


throughout the changes there's one thing that will last (it will always be you & me)

by pmcculers



Series: I hope you save all you got for me cause, baby, you're all mine [2]
Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/F, and giulia is the cutest little teenager, and peggy and angie are grossly domectic and in love, in which angie is the best big sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-03-29 12:43:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3896752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pmcculers/pseuds/pmcculers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>angie's little sister, giulia, is finally coming to visit for the weekend. angie's really excited and peggy's really nervous.</p><p>or</p><p>the one where angie's the best big sister, giulia is the most adorable teenager and peggy falls in love with another martinelli.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. doesn't matter where we are (home is the two of us)

**Author's Note:**

> set about two months after the show stopped. it'll be one chapter for each day of the weekend.
> 
> i just have very strong feelings about angie's family and angie being a big sister. also the veronicas' you and me is this fic's whole aesthetic.
> 
> come talk to me @ paigemcculers.tumblr.com if you want :)

Soft kisses are being placed over your face, lips are slowly tracing the contour of your jaw as light fingers trace the bare skin of your stomach and you hum contently. Your eyes are still closed, but you can imagine Peggy’s face hovering over yours, her hands on your body, trying to wake you up. It surprises you, after last night’s events you wouldn’t imagine she would be this eager so early. You haven’t opened your eyes but, by the soft light you can feel on your skin, you’re sure it can’t be later than seven in the morning.

There are only flashes of last night on your mind, of dinner and drinking and laughing. And of Peggy getting incredibly competitive after some comment you made and you two starting to try and out-drink each other. You remember there were many bottles involved, mostly wine but you think scotch, too, maybe some schnapps in the end, you’re not sure. You had gotten a very bright idea for the engine of one of the cars Howard lets you work on and decided that Peggy had to see it, so you dragged her to the garage. Apparently, you talking cars is something that turns Peggy on, because you distinctly remember her pushing you against a car, pulling your dress up, you grabbing her hair and scrapping the trunk of the Cadillac Sixty Special with your nails. Then you had moved to the living room – both sofas, you think-, then the kitchen and you somehow ended up on one of the guest bathrooms on the way to your room.

It’s tempting, incredibly temping, to just fully wake up and roll on top of Peggy and start from where you stopped late last night, but sleep is also very tempting and you feel stuck at a crossroad of sorts. You’d immediately jump on Peggy if there was even the slight chance that she’d let you go back to sleep afterwards. You know there’s not, so you try to sneak in a few more minutes of eye-rest, but her kisses slowly descend your neck and she starts nipping on the skin between your neck and shoulder and your resolve is completely wrecked. You leap up, pushing on her shoulders and rolling on top of her, your hands trailing down the soft skin of her arms until you can grab her hands and push them against the bed. Your hair falls down around you as you settle on top of her, framing both your faces.

“Gotta say I’m surprised you’re already up after last night, English.” You smile, delighted at the tinge of pink that still colors Peggy’s cheeks even after you’ve been together for a little over two months, and sweep down to press a soft kiss to her lips. She’s absolutely irresistible to you when she’s open like this, smiling easily up at you. When you don’t need to try your hardest to read her and get information from in between the lines, because she just lets you in.

“So…last night. It really did happen? I thought the amount I had to drink could have led me to dream it all.” You grin widely at her, with a simple, ‘ _Nope’,_ and she grins back, easily freeing her hands from your grip and bringing them to your back, scratching her nails down slowly. “I suppose not even my subconscious would be able to create those scenarios.” You wiggle your eyebrows at her before winking coyly as you slip your fingers on her wild morning hair. Peggy snorts a laugh and reaches out with one hand to push your hair away from your face, tangling her fingers on it and giving you her best smoldering look. “I must say the laundry room situation took me by surprise. I underestimated my flexibility and I **definitely** underestimated yours, love.” Right, the laundry room, you don’t know how but you had actually forgotten that. It was definitely something else.

A purring noise escapes from the back of your throat when she scratches her nails through your scalp and you don’t mean for your comeback to sound as much of a plea as it does, but you’ve long stopped pretending you can resist Peggy.

“We can have a repeat any time, hun.” She smiles broadly at you and the amount of adoration you find in her eyes still catches you off guard sometimes. You lean into her touch when she cups your cheek and very, very softly traces your cheekbone with her thumb. You absolutely love soft, tender Peggy. Which is not to say you don’t adore the crap out of cool Peggy, with her witty remarks and knows-better attitude, or that confident, in-control, boss of everyone Peggy does not instantly set you on fire. But tender Peggy is special, because you know you’re the only one who’s gotten to see that side of her in a while. It makes you feel incredibly blessed and grateful that she found you and has kept you around.  

“Oh, we will,” she answers, so coolly and deadpan that it almost makes you forget - again - how she had been pulling desperately at your hair and any part of your body she could reach to get you on top of Howard’s fancy washing machine with her just yesterday. Almost being the key-word, you’re sure the marks of her nails on your side will be there to remind you of it for a few days. Peggy suddenly throws her head back against her pillow in a very loud laugh and you’re so taken aback you’re sure your face must look comic, because she reaches up to pull you in a kiss before laying back down with a shit-eating smirk on her face. “When we first moved here, Mr. Jarvis was chastising me for not appreciating the fine things in this home and I told him I simply did not want to know what had happened on the fine things.” You’re absolutely sure you have never seen Peggy look as pleased with herself as she does while looking up at you now. “Ironically enough, now I’d get to say I don’t want anyone to know what **we** have done on these fine things.” You stare at her for a moment before you burst out in laughter, bracing yourself on her bare chest with your hands so you can sit up and straddle her lap – if you take advantage of the situation to massage her round breasts, nobody could really blame you. You marvel at how her hands immediately grab at your thighs and her eyes instinctually follow your movements, taking in every detail of your naked body as if she hasn’t been seeing it every night for a while now.

“Well, if we do expect that no one finds out about our sexual life I suppose I have a bit of cleaning up to do before my sister gets here tonight. I’ll have to hunt down some of our clothes,” you say jokingly, but Peggy’s eyes widen to what you’re pretty sure it’s almost the size of a pool ball before she abruptly pushes you off her. She’s out the bed in a beat, her robe already tied around her body while you’re still blinking up at the ceiling, recovering from being dumped in the soft mattress so carelessly.  

“Bloody hell, I forgot your sister was coming today. You should have reminded me yesterday instead of allowing us both to drink so much!” She glares at you as if you had committed a federal offense – it makes you feel incredibly glad that Peggy doesn’t know about any of the crimes you **did** commit a few years back. You admit that you may have started all the drinking hoping that you’d get Peggy to relax and just forget about the visit, but, in your defense, she had not complained about it at all last night. You get up and disregard putting anything on in favor of containing Peggy’s mild freak out. You walk up to her and grab her by the shoulders softly, smiling your brightest, most reassuring smile at her.

“Honey, take a deep breath.” You stare her down until she actually does as you say. “Good, now as far as cleaning goes I have plenty of time to get the house in order, I’m off work today, you know that. You just go, shower, get ready for work, keep busy and when you come back she’ll be arriving.” She worries her teeth on her bottom lip and you lean forward, grabbing her by the back of her neck and pulling her into a kiss to set if free. The kiss is soft and slow and the best way you know to calm Peggy’s nerves. She pulls away and smiles gratefully at you before walking to the bathroom. You gather up your undergarments and a comfortable skirt and a blouse as you call over your shoulder. “Hey, English?” She’s just inside the bathroom when she turns to look at you with a quirked eyebrow. You shoot her a knowing smile before turning back to your clothes. “You’re gonna love her, I promise.”

“I have no doubt I will, Angie.” She lets out a deep sigh and it just makes you smile widely as you turn to look at her all slouched against the doorframe.

“And she’ll love you, too. You’re not gonna be the first woman she’s ever seen me with, you know.” Peggy gives you a pointed glare at that and it just makes you laugh. “I’ve told her all about us since you walked into the automat. She already knows of you.” You walk up to her and grab the lapels of her robe, pressing her body against yours. “Listen, this is really important to me, okay? It means a lot having you two finally meet each other.” Peggy nods very seriously at you and you smile softly at her. “And you know what it means for us, being able to just be **us** around someone who’s not Linda or Ana. Around someone that’s been with me, basically, my whole life.” Peggy wraps her arms tightly around your body and gives you a small grin.

“I do, yes.” You place a soft kiss against her forehead before pressing yours against it.

“Plus, she’ll totally think you’re the most amazing person she’s ever met.” Peggy laughs and leans up to press her lips against yours in a playful kiss.

“I’m quite sure you’ll always hold that title for her.” You give her your best _shut up_ look, because, as much as you love how she tries to be supportive and caring all the time, she’s the one who needs reassuring right now.

“You’ll be her hero in no time, just…be yourself. The one you’re with me. She knows **of** you, just let her know **you**.” She smiles softly and nods her head. You kiss her cheek and go get dressed. You don’t turn back around as you put your clothes on but you can feel Peggy hovering on the door, you hear a faint _‘Thank you’_ and then the sound of the shower.  You allow yourself a quiet laugh and some excited hopping around that you’d never let anyone see, not even Peggy, before you go to the kitchen to get some coffee and breakfast ready. You honestly can’t wait to have your two favorite ladies with you and finally get to introduce them to each other.

Peggy leaves for work with a tight hug, a soft, long press of her lips against yours and a promise that she’ll be back in time. You busy yourself with gathering all the bottles around the house - there’s a really alarming amount of them -, tidying up and scrubbing some surfaces you used last night like the kitchen counter, the washing machine and the guest bathroom sink. Since you’re sure your nerves will act up if you stay still for too long, you decide to get a little work done in the garage. You end up making a list of a few things you’ll need Jarvis to pick up so you can fix the scratches you left on the trunk of Harold’s favorite Cadillac as soon as possible.

When Peggy walks into the door late afternoon, you’re already showered, dressed in Giulia’s favorite dress that you own and waiting by the window. You rush to help her out of her coat and grab her suit case, she smiles softly at you and you press a quick kiss to her lips before taking her things to her office. When you walk back to the entrance hall and look through the window your heart skips a beat, you’d recognize that black car parked outside anywhere - you’ve worked on it many times.

“She’s here!” Any other day you might feel ashamed by the high pitched squeal that leaves your mouth, but that day is definitely not today. Peggy laughs a breathy, surprised laugh and offers you her hand, you run to grab it and pull her outside. As you stop just outside the door your smile only dims slightly when you see Giuseppe leaning against the side of the car. He couldn’t look more like an Italian cliché if he wanted to, with his white t-shirt, grey pants and suspenders, and you roll your eyes so hard you almost see the back of your head.

Peggy’s staring at you, you can feel it. You turn to give her a reassuring smile, but you’re met with an arched eyebrow and a suspicious look. Well, the wheels on her mind start spinning sooner than you would have liked. After squeezing her hand, now hidden behind your back, you school your face to the most hardened glare you can manage and acknowledge your cousin with a little nod. He stares you down for another minute before returning the nod and turning to the door. You realize he still has a limp from when he was shot over two months ago.

“This is all awfully formal for a visit from your sister,” Peggy whispers to you while you watch intently as Giuseppe opens the door then leans down towards it to, you assume, give Giulia a few last warnings.

“They’re making a statement here.” You lock your jaw and let go of Peggy’s hand so you can keep your back straight, your hands closed in tight fists on the sides of your body. You’ve been taught the right stance to assume whenever there’s a threat when you were about five years old. The habit has never left you. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Peggy’s face grow more and more suspicious the longer this situation goes on.

When Giuseppe finally steps away from the car you hear Peggy take a step back, hanging just over your shoulder and you can basically feel the strong stance she has assumed behind you. The knowledge that she trusts you to conduct this situation however you see fit, while still showing she, quite literally, has your back, makes your heart flutter in this particular way that you have come to associate with falling in love with her every day.

He holds the door open with one hand while the other holds a big bag and you can understand why they thought a heavier than usual statement was needed - Giulia doesn’t really need that much stuff for only one weekend. And then she steps out of the car, the waves of her light brown hair – much lighter than yours – shining brightly under the remaining sunlight. You’re sure she has grown a few inches since the last time you saw her and you can’t help the smile that tugs on your lips when she takes the time to run her hands over her skirt before taking the bag from Giuseppe and giving him a curt nod, her face set on a serious frown.

The moment her eyes lock with yours her face lights up and her smile is so big her green eyes get lost in the way her face scrunches up adorably. You want nothing more than to just open your arms and reciprocate her smile, but you both know how this works so you cross them instead and give Giuseppe your most serious and strong look while tilting your head to the side, motioning for him that he can leave. As soon as he gets into the car and starts it up you turn back to Giulia and let yourself enjoy the sight of her, with her child-like chubby cheeks and the carefree smile you know she doesn’t get to use much. You open your arms and smile so big at her that you can feel your cheeks ache. She immediately sprints towards your arms and as soon as she’s within reach you take a step forward to embrace her. She drops her bag and wraps her arms around your waist, resting her head on your chest and you wrap one arm tightly around her shoulders and tangle your other hand on her hair while pressing a series of kisses on the crown of her head.

It takes you both a couple of minutes to let go of each other, but as soon as you’re holding her by her arms you start firing questions about how she is and the trip and mom and dad and your brother Antonio and just how much of an **ass** Giuseppe had been. You talk quickly between the two of you for a bit, until a little cough from behind startles you both. It’s only when you turn and see Peggy’s completely confused face that you realize you’ve both been speaking in very quick Italian that she couldn’t have possibly understood. You tug at Giulia’s arm so she’s standing right beside you and you’re both facing Peggy. The thought that your smile could not get bigger than when you saw her had passed through your mind, but you were definitely wrong. This one right now is the biggest yet.

“Giu, this is Peggy Carter, the girlfriend. English, my little sister Giulia.” Peggy smiles nervously at her, but your sister only stands where she is and appraises her. She’s got a very serious look on her face as she looks Peggy up and down and you want to laugh a little when Peggy fidgets a bit uncomfortably. Peggy Carter faltering under the stare of a fourteen year old is something that you had never imagined, but that amuses you very much. You think you see a little drop of sweat dropping from Peggy’s hairline when Giulia finally smiles brightly at her.

“You’re even more gorgeous than Ange said.” You do laugh at the way Peggy’s shoulders instantly drop in relief and she returns the smile easily. “It’s great to finally meet you, Peggy,” she offers her hand and Peggy takes it between both of hers without a second thought.

“The pleasure is all mine, I’ve been looking forward to this weekend.” Giulia turns to you with a raised eyebrow at hearing Peggy’s accent for the first time and you just give her a little shrug. You two had always talked at great length, when you were younger, about how attractive it is when English people talk, so you know she won’t blame you for falling for it so quickly. “Why don’t you two go right in and I’ll take Giulia’s bag?” You smile at her then grab Giulia by the shoulders and start walking her forward, stopping only to drop a quick kiss on Peggy’s cheek when you pass her.

Giulia freezes as soon as she steps inside the entrance hall with a soft, ‘ _Woah’,_ as she looks around and you laugh, because yeah, that was pretty much your reaction, too, for the whole first week. She walks into the main living room – the one you and Peggy usually use, despite the fact that there’s another one right after her office - and starts wandering, so you sit on one of the armchairs and contently watch her. She trails her fingers through the piano on the left corner with a small smile and grabs one of the pillows on the sofa next to it, trailing her fingers slowly on the soft fabric. She then moves to the fireplace, grabbing the framed picture on the ledge above it. It’s your absolute favorite picture of you and Peggy, Ana took it about two weeks after you started dating. It’s the two of you at the automat after your night shift, you’re leaning against the counter and Peggy has her back pressed against your front as she leans against your body. You have both arms wrapped around her waist and your cheek pressed against hers and you two are smiling happily at the camera. Linda has made fun of you many times, because, according to her, you already looked so ridiculously in love then.

You hear Peggy locking every lock on the door before she walks in and stops beside you. You look up and smile at her, she puts the hand unoccupied by Giulia’s bag on your shoulder and squeezes it, but her eyes stay glued to your sister.

“This picture is so adorable.” Peggy’s cheeks flush pink and you laugh, delighted. Giulia looks over and giggles, surprised by Peggy’s red face, but Peggy only huffs with a small smile on her face.

“I’ll go put the bag in Giulia’s room, ok?” You nod at her and she leans down to press a kiss against your temple before smiling at Giulia and disappearing to the hallway on the right.

“My room?” Giulia looks a mix between surprised and excited and you smile at her as you stand up and offer her your hand. She rushes over and grabs it tightly and you follow Peggy to the hallway and enter the kitchen on the first door on the right.

“We have more guest rooms than we’ll probably ever need, we figured you could have your own bedroom here. You can leave stuff there and decorate it however you want.” She smiles brightly at you and tucks herself against your side and you wrap one arm around her shoulders happily. “C’mon, _sorellina_. Peg’s never had real Italian spaghetti and I promised her we make the best _spaghetti_ _alla carbonara_.” Giulia laughs and squeezes your waist before letting go and pulling up the sleeves of her blouse while you move behind her to wave her hair into a quick braid. When you pull your own hair up in a tight bun, her eyes lock someplace around your face and your neck and she gives you a huge smirk before opening the refrigerator and starting to gather everything you’ll need. It’s all so familiar and it feels so right that you can’t help but imagine how wonderful it’d be if you actually managed to get Giulia to come live here.

The two of you work together efficiently and in a comfortable rhythm, like you always have, even though Giulia is not familiar with this kitchen. You talk about your parents, about school and she tells you about how Antonio is helping to keep her from getting too involved in the family business. You let Giulia do most of the talking, because you know that since you left she doesn’t really have someone around that she can talk about everything with and the guilt of it eats away at you every day.

You’ve got the spaghetti all ready to be cooked and are half-way into making the sauce when you see Peggy walking into the kitchen from the corner of your eye, still in her pencil skirt and tucked in shirt. She walks to you and wraps her arms around your waist, pressing her face against your neck. You slip the hand that’s not stirring the sauce into her hair while you meet Giulia’s soft smile with one of your own. It dawns on you that your girlfriend is hugging you in the kitchen of the house you share with her, while you’re cooking with your little sister. You always thought that getting your first role on a musical would be the happiest moment in your life, but this, right now, will definitely be a worthy contestant for that first place.

“It smells good,” she mumbles against your neck and you feel your stomach flutter pleasantly. In the deep breath that you take you can smell the mixed fragrances of what’s left of Peggy’s shampoo, her deodorant and her perfume. It gives her a unique smell of vanilla and roses that you’re sure will be your favorite smell for the rest of your life.

“ **You** smell good.” She hums against your neck and squeezes your waist before pulling away. The pink tinge on her cheeks makes your heart skip a beat and you smile softly at her before cupping her cheek and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

Peggy walks to the kitchen counter where Giulia is working and sits on the stool beside her, mumbling something under her breath. You look at Giulia with a small smirk and she just shakes her head at you and keeps on chopping the tomatoes.

“So, Peggy, what is your job exactly? Angie’s been very secretive about it. She’d just repeat over and over again how **amazing** you are.” You watch as Peggy’s back goes rigid in a second and she gets that serious and secretive look on her face.

“I work for the government.” You roll your eyes at her vague answer. You had talked to her about telling Giulia what is her real job. Yet, you’re not exactly surprised that vagueness is Peggy’s standard reaction to being asked about it when she can’t use her Telephone Company cover. You hope she understands why you need Giulia to know the truth.

“Peggy’s a secret agent, Giu, like a spy! She even fought with Captain America in the war and everything.” Giulia looks between you and Peggy with wide eyes and Peggy glares heavily at you. You only tilt your head and give her a pleading look. You need her to understand how much it means for Giulia to know who she really is. How much Giulia **needs** to know that as a woman she can be whatever the hell she puts her mind into, that she can achieve anything in the world. You need Giulia to know she doesn’t have to settle for anything in her life. She has great examples on Linda and Ana and, you suppose, you, but Peggy is in a whole different level. She’s literally a hero and you need Giulia to know she can be one, too, if she wants. “C’mon, Peg. Giulia can keep a secret.” She’s the best at keeping important secrets as far as you’re concerned, like the time she caught you and the next-door neighbor’s gorgeous daughter on your dad’s garage.

“Better than her sister, I would hope.” She glares at you a little more then turns to Giulia who’s still gaping a little at the both of you. Peggy’s cautious expression vividly reminds you of when she finally told you about it, a week after you had moved into the house. You’re sure you had the exact same expression Giulia has.

_“You’re a secret government agent? Like a spy?” You had finally spoken after a couple of minutes just gaping at her when Peggy had finished her story. She’d told you everything from her real role in the war and Steve Rogers to everything that had happened since you two met like Colleen’s death and the crazy Russian doctor that wanted Howard Stark to crash a plane into Times Square._

_“Yes.” She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and anxiously looking away from your face and back again._

_“Was everything else you told me about your life a lie?” Your voice sounded more hurt than you intended it to and Peggy quickly scooted towards you on the couch and grabbed your hand as she maniacally shook her head._

_“No! No, no. It was all true! Except the phone company is the Strategic Scientific Reserve.” You nodded your head absentmindedly, still trying to digest everything._

_“A secret government agency?” you asked just to make sure you did not understand it all wrong._

_“Yes. Also those injuries you treated were from training. Well, not the first one, that was from a few thieves on the street.” You kept nodding your head because, right, of course a few thieves on the street. That actually sounded a lot more realistic than secret agent._

_“A few?”_

_“Five. I thought they were four, the fifth caught me by surprise, hence the injuries.” She sounded only mildly annoyed and it occurred to you that a few thieves were just a little disturbance to **Agent** Peggy Carter._

_“Right, of course.” You realized your head was still moving slowly up and down and you made a conscious effort to stop it. “You’re a spy. And you actually fought in the war, like blazing guns besides Captain America fought in the war?” Peggy nodded slowly, watching you carefully.  “So Betty Carver is based on you?” She gave you a disgusted look and a curt nod and_ ‘And you’re Captain America’s girl’ _kept running through your mind._

_“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, Angie. I couldn’t put you in that kind of danger. Well, it happened all the same, I suppose.” You guessed Peggy had taken your silence as a bad sign hence her frenetic rambling, but you were honestly just incredibly overwhelmed. Not even with your over the top fertile imagination you would have been able to imagine the truth about the woman you fell in love with._

_“Right, because Dottie is actually a trained Russian spy?” Peggy had nodded and you had only nodded back. “Right.” She squeezed your hand and you locked your eyes with hers, allowing a smile to pull at your lips at Peggy’s nervous gaze. “You know, I knew you were something else, English, but even I couldn’t have imagined this.”_

_“I’ll understand if you don’t want to live with me, knowing all of this.” Peggy hung her head and watched as her thumb ran over the skin of your hand. You rolled your eyes but the smile on your face was bright._

_“And you say I’m the dramatic one. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Someone has to watch over you after all.” Peggy’s head had snapped up, a cautious grin spreading over her face. “Thanks for trusting me with all of this, Peg.” She nodded very seriously and you were so incredibly charmed and in awe of her that you couldn’t stop yourself any longer. You reached with your free hand and cupped Peggy’s cheek, your eyes running over her face for any sign of rejection as you leaned in. All you saw was reciprocity. Her eyes were locked on your mouth as she wet her own lips and reached with her free hand to grab you by the back of your neck to pull you closer, until you were breathing into each other’s mouths, foreheads pressed together. You took one last look at her closed eyes and wet red lips and then closed the gap between your mouths in a soft press of lips that she immediately reciprocated. Your chest tightened wonderfully and the coiling sensation on your belly snapped into a thousand butterflies when she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. The hum that escaped from the back of her throat when you took her bottom lip between yours made you smile into the kiss. Peggy pressed another kiss against your smile before pulling back just a fraction._

_“Took you long enough.” You laughed into the next kiss and you both ended up smiling into each other’s mouths. You pulled back, tracing your thumb over Peggy’s cheekbone as you looked at her in complete adoration._

_“I was waiting until you were ready to trust me with the complete Peggy.” She smiled softly before pulling you into a deep, open-mouthed kiss. You let go of her hand so you could hold her face with both hands and all you knew in that moment was that you never wanted to stop kissing her._

“Wait, so you’re who Betty Carver is based on?” You are brought back from your thoughts by Giulia’s voice as she walks over to you and you laugh at the question you had once asked and the deep scowl on Peggy’s face. “I mean, terribly mischaracterized, I’m sure, but still?” The approving smile that Peggy offers her makes you laugh again as you take the sliced tomatoes Giulia hands you and drop them into the pan. She leans against the sink instead of going back to the counter and watches Peggy curiously.

“Well, I suppose, yes. I believe they forgot to mention a couple of times I saved everyone’s arse. And the time I shot Steve.” You stop stirring and stare blankly at Peggy. You imagine Giulia has a similar expression on her face, because she’s quick to defend herself. “I was testing his shield!” You laugh disbelievingly and just go back to the sauce while Giulia nods her head.

“I’m sure he did something to deserve it.” You shoot her a look, because, really, what could the almighty Cap have done to deserve being shot at by Peggy.

“I walked on him kissing one of the agents after he came back from his first mission.” Realization fills Giulia’s face as she lets out a soft,  _‘Oh’,_ and looks between you and Peggy. You adamantly keep your eyes on the pan you’re stirring and don’t look at either of them, not wanting the,  _‘She is Cap’s girl’,_ thoughts to come back to your mind.

“It’s sad to realize even Captain America isn’t immune to the disappointment that being a man will eventually cause.” Peggy bursts out into a surprised, bubbly laugh and you grin at Giulia, she just grins back proudly and gives you a little wink. “And you shot him, that’s so incredible!” Peggy just keeps laughing until the phone on the main room rings and she gets up from the counter, stopping to kiss Giulia’s head and your cheek, and goes to answer it. Giulia gives you a pointed look that you completely ignore in favor of focusing on the food.

Peggy comes back not long after and you send her to go put up the table, you’ve learned early on that if she doesn’t mention what a call was about it means it was work, so you never bother asking. Surprisingly, Giulia follows her through the door that leads to the dining room to help and as you put the spaghetti in the boiling water you can hear them laughing. It makes your chest swell and your face break into a huge smile.

When the spaghetti is ready, you put it on a bowl and then drop the sauce over it before walking into the dining room to find Peggy and Giulia chatting on the table. Peggy’s sitting at the end of the table and you walk to your place on her right, place the bowl on the table and sit down, smiling at Giulia who’s seated across from you. You serve Giulia first, then Peggy and then fill your own plate. You and Giulia watch as Peggy takes her first ever bite of spaghetti and laugh when she lets out a soft moan before eating another mouthful.  

“I’d never eaten it before, but I’m sure this is the best _spaghetti alla carbonara_ I’ll ever eat.” Giulia looks at you with a hand over her mouth and you can tell she’s holding back laughter, until you repeat _‘Spaghetti alla carbonara’_ with Peggy’s accent and she bursts into laughter. Peggy just glares at you as she shoves more food into her mouth and you blow her a kiss before digging into your own plate. You all eat in silence, even though Giulia keeps giving you the same weird look and little smirk she gave you when you first pulled up your hair. You get fed up with it soon and give her a pointed look as you huff annoyed.

“What, Giulia?” Her smirk widens and her eyes glint maliciously as she looks between you and Peggy.

“I was just thinking here that I really hope you two will be more careful about those bruises on your neck when you come home to visit or mom will **freak out**.” Peggy chokes on her glass of wine and you stare at Giulia, taken aback, as you raise your hand to press it against your neck. Giulia bursts out in giggles and you can only shake your head fondly at how red Peggy’s whole face looks as she presses a napkin against her mouth.

“Didn’t you say your sister was a **shy** little girl?” She sounds completely embarrassed and only mildly annoyed. You and Giulia burst into laughter at that and you reach out to grab Peggy’s hand to comfort her a bit.

“I said she’s shy around people she’s not familiar with. She’s been hearing about you since we met, English.” Giulia nods with a soft smile towards Peggy.

“Around our neighborhood I learned early on to be cautious with people, but I have no reason to distrust someone who Ange trusts so completely.” Peggy relaxes and smiles sweetly at Giulia. She squeezes your hand before letting it go to fill her plate again.

“Since we’re in the subject of trust, what was all of that with Angie and the man that brought you over glaring at each other and speaking through curt nods?” You freeze mid-chew but Giulia is quick to swallow her food down and answer it.

“That was cousin Giuseppe and he always drives me to make some kind of stupid statement. _Mamma_ doesn’t like it very much when I come to visit. She says Ange will put ideas in my head and that she needs me over at the restaurant. _Papà_ wasn’t very happy this time, either, he says I should start secretary school soon, so I can help with business.” It shouldn’t surprise you that your father is now pressuring Giulia into secretary school, but it does and you grab the cutlery tightly so when you talk your voice comes a little less enraged than you actually feel.

“I’ll tell mom and dad where they can shove secretary school next time I talk to them. You’re not doing it. You haven’t even finished school, for God’s sake.” Giulia smiles softly at you and it dampens your rage a bit, that is until Peggy puts her own cutlery down and addresses you both.

“Just so we’re all on the same page here, your family is part of the Italian Mafia in Brooklyn, right?” You and Giulia straighten up immediately as you look at each other before turning to look at Peggy with identic fake-confused faces and Peggy scoffs with a little grin. “Look, I’ve suspected for a long time, I just want to be sure. Local mafia is not something that I work with, I never did. And, unless it becomes a serious matter of international security I’ll do nothing, alright?” You don’t know if that makes you feel relieved or disappointed, maybe a little distraction with authorities is exactly what you need to be able to get Giulia out of there.

“Um, yeah, we are. I mean, they are. Just– hm, yeah.” Ends up being your very eloquent answer and Giulia looks disbelievingly at you, but you only give her a little shrug.

“And secretary school was about you going back to work for them just as it is for Giulia now?” You only nod as you’re not sure what to say exactly. You can’t read Peggy’s face, she looks annoyed and a bit angry, but you can’t tell if it is at you. She doesn’t look exactly disappointed, just satisfied to be putting this all out in the open. You can’t say you don’t feel the same way, you’ve been going around this subject for a while now. “I’m really glad I was considered a traitor for a brief moment and you had to help me, then. You’re never going back to working for them and we’ll definitely get you of there, Giulia. You both deserve more than to settle for that.” Peggy grabs  your hand and Giulia’s with each of her own and gives you both a very serious nod. Relief floods through your body, you’re sure that with Peggy’s  help this will be relatively less impossible.

“Thanks, Peggy.” Giulia’s voice is quiet and she’s smiling very softly and her eyes are shining in what you can tell are restrained tears, before she shakes her head. “But wait, what is this about you being considered a traitor?” The three of you go back to eating as Peggy tells Giulia a very compact version of the story. You are happy to just sit back, drink some wine and watch as Giulia’s face shows how much she already adores and respects Peggy. You knew it could not have gone any differently.

Giulia asks for a tour of the house after you’re all done and Peggy offers to clean up the kitchen, so it’s just the two of you. You lead her to the second living room, at the end of the hallway on the left of the main room. This room is smaller than the other, with two sofas and three armchairs, a couple of corner tables and a small bar. She does the same thing she did with the other one, walking around and touching things and taking all the details in.

“We don’t really use this room much, except for when Peggy has some important people over.” Or for when you and Peggy are drunk and want to have sex anywhere but in your bed like last night, but you decide to not tell Giulia that.

“Everything’s so fancy.” You laugh because yeah, you’ve been living here for over two months now and you don’t think you’ll ever get used to it. You walk to the door at the end of the room and nod for Giulia to follow you out. You’ve been particularly excited about showing her this. You turn the lights on and you hear her soft little gasp as you turn to see her flabbergasted expression.

“These are all Howard’s cars and he lets me work on them and make upgrades and just go crazy, really.” You’re bouncing a little bit on the balls of your feet while you follow Giulia as she walks into the garage and goes from car to car, making little comments and asking questions about things that were clearly your work. You hadn’t admitted not even to yourself, until now, how excited you were for this part. Getting to bounce ideas off of Giulia and have her help you work on the cars is something that you’ve been dreaming of since Howard first brought all these cars. “I thought we could spend the afternoon out here tomorrow.” Giulia looks up from the engine she was examining with bright green eyes and an even brighter grin and you can’t help but step forward to give her a tight squeeze. You’ve really missed her a lot.

With a hand on her elbow you have to basically drag her away from the cars, not that you can blame her, you never worked on this kind of cars on dad’s shop. You walk inside with your arms linked and back to the hallway where there’s a pair of closed doors you had passed right by earlier. You open the door to the left and let Giulia walk into the library. She stops mid-step as she tries to take it all in and then exhales loudly. The room is huge and there are bookcases completely filled with books that reach mid-wall on both the right and left walls of the room. On the opposite side from the door, four very tall windows show a view to the garden outside. The space is filled with sofas and armchairs that are really, really comfortable – you’ve tried all of them – and two long tables for studying.

“This place is unreal, Ange, geez.” You laugh and place one hand at her lower back, urging her to step further inside.

“There’re books about basically everything here and it’s all like freakishly organized.” You point to the farthest bookcases on the left side. “I looked for the science books and I think there are a lot of them that you’ll really like.” She stares at where you had pointed for a few seconds until you push her towards it. “Go, pick one so you can take it to your bedroom with you.” She jumps a little right where she stands and then presses a loud kiss on your cheek before rushing to the bookcases and you chuckle at her enthusiasm. It warms your heart to see her happy and free like this, you know how repressed she feels at home.

You watch as she runs her fingers through the spine of many books, pulls one out, looks it over then puts it back. It goes like that for about five minutes. You feel completely content to just witness the joy on Giulia’s face at every book she pulls out, until she finally picks one and walks back to you, clutching it to her chest.

“You done?” She nods as she grabs your hand tightly. You don’t really understand the look she’s giving you and it unsettles you. “Hey, _bambina_ , you okay?” She simply nods again and you’re getting worried by her lack of words. “You sure?” You dip your head to try and catch her eyes and you see the way her throat bobs at how hard she swallows.

“You just- I feel really lucky to have you as my sister. You’re the best big sister and I love you.” You laugh as you pull her into a hug, but it’s a wet sound as you try to keep the tears on your eyes from spilling down.

“I love you, too, kid.” You press a kiss to her hair before pulling away and tugging her by her hand. “C’mon now, one more room, then I’ll show you your bedroom.” You see, from the corner of your eye, as she wipes her cheeks and sniffs softly. You give her hand a squeeze and then walk to the door on the other side of the hallway, opening it up.

Peggy’s office is as cozy as an office can get. A couple of paintings line up the white walls, but they are mostly bare. The blue curtains covering the windows frame Peggy’s long table beautifully. To the right of it are a couple of metal archives while the left wall has a few shelves with books and framed pictures in them. On the left side of the door a matching red sofa and armchair are placed around a small center table – that’s where you spend a lot of your time reading while Peggy works.

Giulia walks into the room with the same awed expression she got from the other ones. You sit on the armchair as she studies some of the paintings and quickly swipes her eyes around the papers on Peggy’s desk before moving to the shelves and grabbing one of the three framed pictures. You know them all too well so you smile, waiting for her reaction and you’re not disappointed. She turns to you with a huge grin and shows you the picture of Linda, Ana, Peggy and you all huddled together on a table at a nightclub, huge smiles on your faces.

“Double date?” You feel shy for the first time around Giulia since she arrived as your heart skips a beat from just remembering that night. A night you never gave her many details about.

“That was actually after our first date.” You point to the framed picture on Peggy’s desk and Giulia puts her book down on the table and picks it up. She looks it over with a small laugh and brings both pictures with her as she comes to sit beside you.

“You bought her violets, Ange?” You shake your head with a small chuckle and take the picture from her hands. Peggy had looked incredibly gorgeous that night in a tight strapless red dress and her hair in loose curls while you wore a sky blue dress with a large silk strap around your neck - that you had borrowed from Ana - and your hair down in small waves. On the picture that Ana took in their house before you left, Peggy’s left hand is holding your right one and her right one is wrapped around your arm while you hold a bouquet of violets with your free hand. You don’t remember ever having a picture where you’re smiling so genuinely that the happy glint in your eyes is obvious through the lens, but in this one both you and Peggy look over-the-moon happy.

“Actually she bought them for me. She came to pick me up at Linda’s, brought me the violets and took me to a really nice restaurant for dinner. Then we went dancing with Linda and Ana after.” You point to the picture still in Giulia’s hand with a smile. She grabs the picture of you and Peggy and looks intently at it before standing up and taking it back to its place.

“She really is good to you, isn’t she?” She turns to look at you after putting the other picture back in the shelf and retrieving her book and you smile genuinely at her.

“Yeah, she really is.”

“Good.” She nods and walks over, grabbing your hand and hauling you off the couch and to the door. She guides you back to the main room and you find Peggy sitting on one of the sofas, a glass of wine and a book in each hand. She looks up and smiles when she hears you entering the room.

“So, how did you like the house, Giulia?” Giulia snorts before letting go of your hand and walking over to sit beside Peggy.

“It’s insane, I’m sure I’ll get lost at some point this weekend.” Peggy puts her book down with a chuckle and grabs Giulia’s hand before saying with a very serious face.

“If you do, remember that there’s a phone in every room so just call one of them.” Giulia looks taken aback and looks at you then whispers a soft,  _‘Really?’,_ and Peggy bursts out in laughter. You laugh, too, while you nod at her.

“Believe it or not, Giu, Howard can be a bit extravagant.” Peggy snorts and gives you a pointed look that you answer with a wink. “C’mon now, time to turn in. I’ll show you your bedroom.” Giulia nods and presses a kiss on Peggy’s cheek before standing up.

“Good night, Peggy.” Peggy smiles back and stands, too.

“Rest well, darling.” Giulia literally swoons in front of your eyes and you imagine you must have looked exactly the same the first time Peggy called you that – you think you might still look like that sometimes.

With a chuckle and a shake of your head, you wrap an arm around Giulia’s shoulders and guide her through the right hallway, past the kitchen and dining room to turn left into another hallway. You point her to the four empty guest bedrooms - all with their own bathrooms -, the two guest bathrooms and then stop in front of the last door on the right.

“That one is mine and Peggy’s.” You point to the door behind you and then nod to the one in front of you with a grin. “Go ahead.” Giulia beams at you before turning the knob and walking into the room.

The bedroom is **big** , the biggest in the house after the one you share with Peggy and has a familiar set. On the wall across from the door are two big windows, in between them a light-brown vanity set, and on the corner of that wall a writing-desk and a chair of the same color. The dark-wooden twin-sized bed is in the middle of the right wall, nightstands of the same shade on both sides with a table lamp on each of them. To the right of the door there’s a huge wardrobe made of the same wood from the bed and on the left side a corner table and an armchair beside an empty bookcase. A door leading to the bedroom’s bathroom is at the far end of the left wall.

Giulia very silently takes off her shoes and steps on the huge, fluffy, red carpet in the middle of the room and wiggles her toes into it. She looks up with a bright smile and you don’t try to stop the chuckle that leaves your mouth.

“There are some bed settings and comforters on the wardrobe, you can choose the ones you like best.” She nods and skips to the bed, she puts the book on the nightstand then sits down on the mattress and jumps up and down for a bit with a giggle.

“It’s really soft!” You laugh before sitting down on the armchair.

“I know! I used to sleep here before moving to the other bedroom with Peggy. The first couple of nights I had a hard time falling asleep on such a soft mattress.” Giulia gets up and goes to the wardrobe, opening every door and drawer to look inside. She pulls out a bedding set and you stand to help her put it on the bed. “There are towels and tooth-brushes and probably everything you need on the bathroom.” You point to the door and she smiles and nods as you both tuck the bed sheet under the mattress. She stretches the blanket over the bed and you help smooth it over before leaning against the table. “I’m really, really happy you’re here, Giu.” She places the comforter over the blanket and sits down on it.

“Me, too. I missed you a lot, I’m glad I’m here with you.” You grin at her before jumping on the bed, tackling Giulia down into the mattress and just lying there hugging her. “Peggy is really wonderful. It was about time you found someone like her.” She groans when you squeeze her tightly and when you plant a wet, sloppy kiss on her cheek she pushes your face away. “Ew, you’re gross.” You laugh as you leap up from the bed.

“Sleep tight, Giu.” She nods with a smile and a soft,  _‘You, too’,_ and you walk away, closing her bedroom door behind you. **Giulia’s** bedroom, it makes your chest tingle with happiness.

When you walk into your bedroom is to find the wonderful view of Peggy in her undergarments, folding her skirt. You close the door and lean against it, content with watching her.

“Already made sure the house is all locked?” She doesn’t look at you as she places her skirt with the rest of her clothes on top of the table.

“Yes, ma’am.” That gives you pause because, oh, that tone is definitely not good. You’re proven right, because it doesn’t take long for Peggy to turn around and look at you with her hands placed on her hips. “I really don’t like that you told Giulia about me being an agent. This is dangerous, Angie, it’s not a joke.” You tilt your head and open your mouth to answer her, but she cuts you off. “Don’t get me wrong, I'm happy you think I can inspire her to do whatever she wants with her life and you're a great sister. But I still don’t like it.” You smile at her as you push away from the door and walk towards her.

“You can understand why I did something and still not like that I did it. We’ll probably have lots of those along the way.” She narrows her eyes as you get closer, but you decide to ignore it in favor of pressing her against the table and kissing her hard. She kisses you back and slips her hands around your waist, pulling you tightly against her body. You place small kisses on her cheek before moving down her jaw towards her neck.

“While we’re on the subject, I **really** don’t like that you kept the fact that your family is part of the Italian mafia a secret from me.” A deep sigh leaves your lips as you pull away to look at her.

“I didn’t want to put you in danger, darling.” You use your worst English accent and it makes her scowl at you.

“Your accent is terrible.” You laugh and press a small kiss against her lips, tangling your hands on her hair.

“I’m so happy Giulia is here.” She smiles softly at that, pressing her forehead against yours.

“I am, too.”

“You’re already her hero, you know?”

“I guess we could share that title.” You scoff a little as you tug on her hair so you can give her an incredulous look.

“I think secret agent trumps wannabe actress, English.”

“And **I** think big sister who found a way to leave the Italian **mafia** and make a life for herself trumps pretty much any damn thing. You inspire her a lot, you know?” Heat floods to your cheeks in an unusual way and Peggy grins delightedly when she notices it.

“You know how to flatter a girl.” You crouch down and unclip her stockings before slowly pulling down the one on her right leg and throwing it aside. “I’m so, so happy you two are finally existing in the same place and time in my life.” You grab the back of her thigh as you place a long kiss on the large scar she has mid-thigh and then several more down until you reach her knee.

“She’s so lovely, Angie. She reminds me so much of you, there’s no way I could not adore her.” You smile up at her as you pull down the stocking on her left leg, pressing small kisses on it like you did with the other one. Peggy tangles her fingers on your hair when you reach up to unzip her girdle and pull it down and over her legs.

You stand up slowly, peppering kisses over her underwear-covered stomach, up her ribs and through her bra until you reach her face. She’s smiling and you press a kiss against it as you reach behind her to open her bra. You pull Peggy from against the table and slip behind her, your hands running over her back before going through her shoulders and arms, sliding her bra off while nuzzling her neck softly. She takes a shuddering breath when you wrap your arms around her waist. You walk her towards the bed, taking your time to kiss the bullet scars on Peggy’s right shoulder before moving your kisses through the back of her neck and to the other shoulder, her hands gripping tightly at the fabric of your dress through the whole thing.

When you reach the bed Peggy turns back around and you push her to sit on it. You turn your back to her and she promptly pulls down the zipper of your dress, her hands run through your back, pulling a pleased sigh from your lips. As you step away and out of your shoes and dress she moves to the center of the bed and waits for you. You take off your bra and crawl your way to her, pressing your body against hers when you lean down to kiss her lips. It still feels like a dream every time you get to have her like this so completely open and yours.

You make your way down her body, pressing kisses on her neck and sucking on the skin between her breasts, making Peggy squirm under your touch and slip a hand firmly into your hair. As usual, you take the time to kiss and rack your teeth through the sensitive scar on her left side – a knife wound, she told you-, right under her ribs and a soft gasp leaves her lips.

“We ha- have to be quiet.” You grin against her skin and keep making your way down her body, nuzzling her belly button as you reach for her underwear and start pulling it down.

“You’re the one who has trouble keeping your voice down, English.” You look up to smirk at her as you pull her underwear through her feet and throw it to the side. A low chuckle leaves your lips when Peggy nods quickly as she swallows hard. You think you’ll definitely have extra fun teasing her tonight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. it's plain to see i'm incomplete without you and me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which peggy and giulia are already super comfortable around each other;  
> angie and giulia are realy cute mechanics;  
> and linda and ana are a part of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set about two months after the show stopped. it'll be one chapter for each day of the weekend.
> 
> i just have very strong feelings about angie's family and angie being a big sister. also the veronicas' you and me is this fic's whole aesthetic.
> 
> come talk to me @ paigemcculers.tumblr.com if you want :)

If anyone else had woken you up at seven in the morning on a Saturday you’d be very upset. You have just recently convinced Peggy that Saturdays are days that she’s allowed to sleep in – which for her it mostly means waking up at eight instead of six o’clock. But Giulia had very quietly knocked on your bedroom door, like she was half hoping you wouldn’t answer. You had woken up though, which was a miracle in itself considering you’re as heavy a sleeper as they come - you guess your big-sister senses had tingled. She profusely apologized, because she knows how much you love to sleep in when you can, but she couldn’t get back to sleep after waking up and she didn’t really know what to do around here. So instead of going back to your comfy, warm bed with a gorgeous, naked Peggy, you put some clothes on and got out of your room.

That’s how you end up here, in your kitchen at seven thirty, talking and laughing and baking with your little sister. You’ve just put the cookies in the oven and you have flour kind of all over your clothes and you can feel a bit of dry dough on your cheek from when you had mixed it a bit too vigorously. In contrast, Giulia is absolutely clean and dough free – she’s always been the best baker and the less messy out of the two of you in just about everything. You clean up together while Giulia catches you up on the neighborhood gossip that your mom is always spilling out and she sounds so carefree and full of joy as she mocks them. This is the happiest you’ve felt in a while about something that didn’t directly involve Peggy. Giulia is pulling out something from the little hairs close to your temple when you hear loud footsteps that are entirely for yours and Giulia’s benefit - you've been hard on Peggy about how she almost gives you heart attacks when she walks around the house without making a sound. You turn around to watch as Peggy steps through the doorway, quickly assesses the situation, her eyes landing on your disheveled state and then she huffs out a bubbly laugh.

“You got Angie to wake up before nine on a Saturday? Giulia, you’re a miracle worker.” She leans against the doorframe with a playful smile on her lips and you roll your eyes even as your whole face smiles back without your direct consent.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get used to it. And don’t even think you can pull it off. It’s an exception for Giulia this weekend.” Peggy’s smile turns from playful to a soft one and you walk to her, leaning forward to place a small kiss on her lips. She pulls away and her cheeks are pink when she moves her eyes to Giulia behind you and then back to you with an arched eyebrow. You grin at her and make a show of grabbing Peggy’s face with both hands and planting a hard kiss on her lips. Giulia laughs behind you and you smile into the kiss, ending it with a soft peck on the corner of her mouth. Peggy’s cheeks are red now and she smiles sheepishly when she uses her thumb to wipe away the dough on your cheek.

“How did you get this dirty while Giulia is so clean?” You glare at her when Giulia laughs again and you walk back towards the counter to finish cleaning up.

“What do you mean? Messy is Ange’s constant state of being, you should get used to it.” They share a laugh and you glare at both of them even though internally you want to scream joyfully and bring them both into a hug. They are ganging up on you and, as annoying as it is, this feels so much like a family already. This is the family you want, with your sister and Peggy.

“Well, we can fix that very easily.” You stuff your hand into the bag of flour and slap it on Giulia’s cheek. She gasps and stares at you with her mouth open and you grin coyly at her and then do it again on the other one. You see her lips turning up and her hand moving. You barely have time to turn your back to her and protect your hair before she swings at you and cracks an egg on your back. You take a shuddering breath when you feel the cold, wet goo dripping down your back. You turn back around and you and Giulia stare at each other before you both burst into laughter. When you turn to look at Peggy she’s staring wide-eyed at both of you. Giulia gives you a look before you both turn to Peggy with identic mischievous grins. She stands up straight, puts her hands in front of her body and shakes her head quickly.

“No! No, don’t even think about it, I just showered. Which is where you two are headed right now. I’ll watch the oven.”

“You’ll burn it like you always do!” Peggy glares at you and you just shrug. It’s not like you’re lying, you’ve had quite a few incidents with Peggy burning pretty much anything she’s tried to cook. 

“How long?” she asks Giulia, ignoring your comment.

“Thirty minutes, no longer than that.” Peggy nods very seriously and steps away from the door.

“I’ll watch it.” Giulia doesn’t need to be told twice. She stops to give Peggy a good morning kiss on the cheek and then rushes off to do as she was told. You’re intent on doing the same, but as soon as you get close to the door Peggy grabs you and presses you against the doorframe. She smiles as she slips one hand into your hair and the other under your sweater and pulls you into a proper kiss. Her hand runs through your stomach and to your side as she slips her tongue into your mouth and you grab tightly at her blouse, pulling her even closer. She sucks on your bottom lip and pulls away with a little kiss on your chin.

“Good morning, darling.” Peggy’s voice is all breathy and low and you’re very glad she’s pressing you against the doorframe or you’re sure your knees would have given out. You still swoon like you did the first time she called you that.

“Morning.” You barely get the words out before you’re leaning in for another kiss, but Peggy pulls back with a wide grin.

“It wasn't nice to wake up and not have you in bed with me. I believe I might be becoming a bit dependent." Peggy’s voice is low and soft and it makes you smile. She can be such a softie sometimes and it makes your heart clench in the most pleasant way. You place little kisses on her jaw as your hand sneaks up her side intent on copping a feel, but she grabs it before it can reach her breast and pulls away from you with a knowing smirk. "Nah. Shower. Now.” You pout but she just keeps smiling and shakes her head. You huff and wiggle your way out of her embrace.

“Fine. There’re pancakes for you on the counter. Giulia made them,” you grumble at her. Peggy nods and leans towards you with puckered lips and you scoff at her before walking away. You’re absolutely head over feet in love with her, but you can be just as stubborn as that bull-headed girlfriend of yours. Being in love doesn’t make you easy - only sometimes. Like three times out of five at most. You’ve honestly been working on it since you two first started dating.

Your shower lasts longer than you intended it to, you just couldn’t get rid of the gross feeling that the egg was still on your skin. You dress quickly in comfortable pants and a plain black t-shirt and when you’re walking back to the main room you hear Peggy’s voice. You lean against the kitchen doorway, from where you can see that Giulia is the one she’s talking to. You catch the end of a war story that you’re sure is about Peggy saving everyone’s lives – most of them are. You can only see the side of your sister’s face, but you recognize that look. It’s the one you got whenever you protected her from older girls who loved to pick on her or after all the times you got your mom to leave her alone about entering the family business. Peggy’s already a hero to your little sister and the way Giulia’s looking at her with such veneration and respect tugs warmly at your heart.

“I think- maybe I’d like to work at a- hm, scientific division of the government…or something like that? You know, do my part on making the world a better place or whatever,” Giulia says slowly, hesitantly and Peggy slides closer to her, grabbing her hand with a huge smile on her face.

“Giulia, that’s wonderful, darling. I have no doubt you’d be incredible at it. We just need to find the right places to get you educated and that can get you where you want to go.” Peggy’s voice is excited and supportive and you press a hand to your chest afraid that if you don’t physically keep your heart in place it’ll beat right out of it. “I didn’t just know what I had to do to get where I wanted or how to do it, you know. I had a monitor at my all-girls school and she was an incredible nineteen years old girl who was very supportive of my dreams and helped me get into the right path to achieve them. I’d be happy to be that person for you.” Peggy’s face scrunches up in a grimace and she runs her free hand over her neck awkwardly. “Obviously without any of the…extra-curricular activities she and I took part in.” You splutter mid-breath as your mind lets out a victorious shriek. You **knew** Peggy had to have had a queer experience in her all-girls school, as stereotypical as that sounds. You imagined it would have been with another student, but you should have expected Peggy to not go for the usual. Nothing about her is usual. Peggy’s face immediately shows how much she regrets that overshare of information and Giulia splutters some kind of response then clears her throat and it makes you smile at how wonderfully awkward they both are.

“I’d love that, Peggy. Thank you,” Giulia remarks softly and Peggy nods, her face showing her relief as they move on from that topic. “You know, I look at Angie and how she left that place and came after her dreams and how happy she is now. She is so incredible and brave.” Your heart swells as you watch Giulia talking about you with that same look she was giving Peggy before. Like you’re a hero, too. “And I want to make her proud, I want to be able to do the same, but I don’t know if I’ll get to. Mom will probably want me at the restaurant. She says she’s getting too old to run it all.” Guilt floods through your veins at the thought that you getting out of there could mean your sister **never** getting out. In this moment you swear you’ll do even the impossible to stop that from happening.

“I won’t let that happen, Giu. We’ll figure it out.” Your words announce your presence and they both turn to look at you with soft smiles when you walk into the room and towards them. You’ve never felt more love than when you have these two with you and you intend on making this a permanent situation as soon as possible.

“We will,” Peggy confirms as she squeezes Giulia’s hand supportively before standing up. “Now I have to go over a few files from work, if you two don’t mind me working here?” You and Giulia shake your heads with matching smiles. You grab Peggy’s arm when she moves towards her office and bring your mouth to ear so Giulia won’t hear you.

“And you’ll have to tell me about this monitor lady later, when there are no children around.” You give her a pointed look and she smiles sheepishly, kisses your cheek and walks away.

The bigger couch gives out a little under your weight when you drape yourself over it. You smile at Giulia as you pat the space left on it and she stands up happily and comes to lay with you. She lays half on top of you and you wrap your arms around her, settling down to some quality cuddling time. Peggy comes back from her office, smiles softly at the sight of you two and then settles on the big table with her files.

“Do your neighbors ever wonder? About you two? Cause you know _mamma_ would be all over it,” she mumbles against your chest. You feel that familiar warm tingling in your chest and you tighten your arms around her.

“Not really. Most of them assume Howard is my boyfriend and Jarvis is Peggy’s.” Peggy groans from her table and you laugh a little at the standard response. “We figured we’d let them run with that theory if it’s what they want to believe in. Besides, it’s none of their damn business anyway.” Giulia nods and settles more heavily over your body, the fact that she was awake so early probably catching up to her. You know it’s definitely catching up to you. It’s quiet for a few minutes, the shuffle of Peggy’s files slowly luring you into sleep until Giulia shifts, resting her chin on your chest. You feel her staring at you and you pop one eye open, hoping it’s enough to convey a questioning look.

“I’m starting to like a boy…I think.” The shuffling of papers stop and you open your other eye, looking at Peggy, who had turned around on her chair to pay attention to the conversation, before giving Giulia your undivided attention. This is new, she’d never talked about liking anyone. You tilt your head, encouraging her to continue past her hesitancy. “I mean, I am. I’m liking this boy, Ezra.” Your eyebrows shoot up before you can control them and Giulia nods with a sigh and a sad curl of her lips. “Yeah, he’s Jewish.” A depreciating scoff follows. “Wouldn’t mom be proud of her girls?” You see the way Giulia’s jaw locks tightly and you recognize the look in her eyes. You had felt this way many times in your life, this desperation to not disappoint your mother even while you knew it’d be inevitable if you were to live a happy life. That need has ever only brought you sadness and regrets. Giulia won’t go through that anymore. You’ll make sure of that.

“You know, maybe she wouldn’t, but that’s on her not on us, Giu. She **should** be proud. As far as I’m concerned we turned out to be a couple of pretty incredible gals.” The corners of Giulia’s mouth turn up slowly in a thoughtful way and you smile encouragingly at her. “Now tell me about **Ezra**.” Her cheeks flame up instantly and you share a small grin with Peggy.

“He’s in my science class and he backed me up with the whole project for the science competition debate, almost got suspended with me. But he didn’t try to do it **for** me, you know.” You nod with a little grin, enjoying the shyness in her voice and already storing away every information about this boy. “We study together sometimes, he’s really smart and he always accepts my suggestions and he’s never ashamed to admit I’m right and he’s wrong and he’s just **really** handsome.” Your grin widens as she stops to catch her breath. Her eyes have this glint that’s just begging for some sort of approval and you like to think she’ll always find it in you.

“He sounds really great and I’m really happy for you. I hope he’s everything you want him to be, just…” You watch as her face falls and you’re quick to finish your sentence. “Just remember to always be careful, ok? That’s all. Have fun, get to know him, just never trust boys **too** much, alright?” Peggy makes a noise of agreement from her table and Giulia rolls her eyes, but the grin in her face is big.

“I know, I know, yes.” She bites her lip and shakes her head softly and the resigned look on her face makes your whole body ache. “It doesn’t really matter, though. I doubt his family would be too happy about this, either, it’s sort of doomed already.” You want to laugh, because, yeah, you’ve known what doomed feels like for years. Until you found Peggy that is, now your life is mostly just full of happiness and hope for the future. You know a lecture is not what Giulia needs, though, so you try to get her spirits up.

“You guys have a hell of a better chance than Peggy and I if we were living in her country. You hear about the situation there with our people?” Her lips do turn up, so you take it as a small victory.

“Yeah, the anti-Italianism is really strong there.” She suddenly burst into giggles. “You’d be like Romeo and Juliet.” You remember saying the same thing to Peggy once, back when you weren’t even together yet. Peggy groans loudly from her table and you both turn to look at her.

“That story has enough drama as it is, I don’t want to imagine being the queer version of it.” Peggy’s voice is annoyed, but her lips still turn up slightly. Giulia laughs softly then rests her head back down on your chest. “Angie is right, Giulia. Your mother should definitely be proud of the girls she’s raised.” Giulia squeezes your waist softly and you can see just the side of the smile she’s directing at Peggy. “My grandmother would certainly be proud that you two are women that I have in my life.” You blink a few times, surprised, before you move your eyes to her.

“Does your grandma know about you and Ange?” Peggy smiles widely at that. It’s such a happy, free and loving smile that you feel your lips mirror hers.

“Absolutely. Grandmother used to tell me, when I was a kid, that we were born ahead of our time and that the world had a lot of catching up to do with women like us. She’d tell me to never stop myself from doing something I wanted just because it meant going against what people would expect.” Something in the air gives you the feeling that this is an important moment. This is why you wanted Giulia to meet Peggy, she has a way with words to explain important things. It’s one of the things about her that had caught you by surprise and that made you even more in awe of her. “And also to always surround myself with incredible women, because the future lies in our hands. Thanks to her I became a women’s woman.” Giulia laughs openly while you let out a little snort, trying to keep your laughter in. Peggy just rolls her eyes at the two of you for ruining the moment. “In **many** other ways, but, yes, also like that.” You smile at her and she gives you a little wink. “Grandmother can’t wait to meet Angie and she’ll be dying to meet you when I tell her all about you in my next letter.” Giulia tilts her head down with a shy smile and Peggy smiles warmly at the two of you before turning back to her work.

Giulia settles back against you and the seven am wake-up call finally catches up to the two of you. You fall asleep cuddled up on the couch.

A hand is running through your hair and you lean into it, still more asleep than awake when another rests on your shoulder, shaking it lightly. The weight of Giulia’s body still rests heavily on top of you and you open your eyes to the sight of Peggy’s face very close to yours. She’s resting her chin on the couch right beside your head and she smiles warmly when she sees you’re awake. Even after all these weeks waking up to Peggy’s face still feels like a dream sometimes.

“Sorry to wake you up, but it’s already past noon and I was able to successfully heat up some of that spaghetti. Do you want to eat now?” You nod with a smile, it will always surprise you how Peggy manages to turn some of the simplest actions into something adorable. You lean forward and pucker your lips and Peggy leans the rest of the way to place a small kiss on your lips. She runs her hand through your hair one more time before standing up and walking away.

You wake Giulia up and you go to the dining room where Peggy is already waiting for you two. You eat the spaghetti, that she had actually managed to burn a little bit somehow, in between easy conversation and with some music playing in the background. In the same way the three of you clean up the dishes afterwards. As soon as you’ve put the last plate in its place you turn to Giulia and you can feel your body buzzing with excitement that you barely try to contain.

“So I was thinking we could go take a look at the garage now. What do you think, Giu?” Giulia’s face lights up immediately and her eyes are sparkling in a way that you’re sure mirrors your own. Peggy rolls her eyes and sighs deeply, but you just smile at her, amused, before turning back to your sister. “C’mon, I bought you some really cute overalls for this particular occasion.” You offer your hand to Giulia and she rushes to grab it excitedly.

You lead Giulia into the bedroom you share with Peggy and she hesitantly follows you inside. You appreciate her respect for your privacy but there’s really no need for that. A bag is on top of your table and you point Giulia towards it as you take off your pants and grab your own blue overalls, putting them on. As you’re strapping the top part into place, over your black t-shirt, you watch Giulia take the clothing off the bag and press the green overalls over her body. She smiles excitedly at you after she sees her reflection in the mirror and you grin back, nodding at her to try it on.

“Do you have a t-shirt I can borrow?” She makes quick work on taking off her pretty dress and you sit on your vanity.

“Third drawer from the top.” You make quick work of your hair, pinning it up carelessly and then wrapping a red bandana around it, a knot in the front and a few hair-pins holding it in place. Giulia stops behind you and through the reflection of your vanity mirror you can see as she appraises her own reflection, dressed in the green overalls and a grey t-shirt. Your smile is huge when your eyes meet through the mirror and you stand up, pointing at the chair you just vacated.

“Let me do yours now.” Giulia promptly sits down and you work on doing the same pin up hairdo on her before you open the right vanity drawer and grab a yellow bandana, wrapping it around her head like you did with yours.

When you’re done you go to your wardrobe, from where you grab two pairs of beat up black combat boots. As soon as you put those on you pull Giulia up by her hand to stand in front of the full body mirror. She lets out a giggle as she looks over both your reflections and you laugh at how wonderfully alike you two look before pulling her out of the room.

Peggy’s sitting on one of the armchairs with a book and she looks up when she hears you walking in. With a slightly arched eyebrow she looks you up and down and gives you a pleased look that surprises you, you’ve always made sure you had already changed out of your dirty overalls by the time Peggy comes home. Maybe you shouldn’t have. She moves her gaze to Giulia, then back at you and her grin turns incredibly soft – like you’ve only seen a handful of times. She stands up and holds her finger up towards you both.

“You go along to the garage, this feels like the perfect reason to finally use that fancy camera Howard has.” She rushes off in search of the camera and you laugh, delighted at her eagerness.

You’re in the middle of discussing with Giulia the changes you want to make on the engine of the red Plymouth P15C Special Deluxe Convertible – which is basically your baby - when Peggy rushes into the garage, camera in hand. You both turn away from the car to look at her and she looks in awe at how dirty you’ve both managed to get your hands and clothes in the few minutes it took her to find the camera. You shrug sheepishly and she rolls her eyes before giving you a fond smile.

“Okay, just lean on the car and smile at the camera,” Peggy instructs and you lean against the open hood and tuck Giulia under your arm, completely pressed against your body.  She places her arms around your waist when you wrap yours tightly around her shoulders and then rests her head against your shoulder. You’ve been smiling at the camera for a few seconds, but Peggy still hasn’t taken the picture. The clearing of your throat snaps her out of whatever was going on and she gives you an apologetic smile. “Sorry, darlings. You two just look like bloody twins, it’s disconcerting.” You two laugh and Peggy gives you a look. “How alike you sound is also **really** disconcerting, I hope you know that.” You give her an affirmative nod, because you do know. Since Giulia turned twelve she’s started to look and sound more and more like you. When you place your face down closer to Giulia’s head and smile Peggy finally takes a couple of pictures. She’s about to walk away before your voice stops her.

“Wait, can you take another, Peg?” She nods and turns back around and you push Giulia to the right side of the car as you walk to the left one. “We’re mechanics, not damn models. Just let’s get back to work and Peggy can take the picture when it looks good.” Peggy’s beaming at you when your turn to give her a wink and after a few minutes of you two being draped over the sides, working into the hood, you finally hear a couple of clicks from the camera. Peggy gives you a thumbs up when you look at her and then walks over to the work table in the corner of the garage.

An hour has passed since you started working at the garage and Peggy has settled down on a chair with her book, closer to where you and Giulia are, when the phones start to ring. She rushes to the one besides the work table to answer it and when she comes back with an apologetic look on her face you already know what comes next.

“I’m so sorry, but something’s come up and I need to go to the office. I’ll absolutely be home before Linda and Ana arrive for dinner, okay?” You’re so occupied with the cars and Giulia right now that you’re sure Peggy would just end up feeling left out, so you give her a nod and a smile and beckon her over with a finger. You lean forward as you keep your dirty hands away from her and Peggy pecks your lips before kissing the top of Giulia’s head and taking off.

Every single engine is examined and dismantled in the hours you spend in the garage and Giulia gives you many interesting ideas that you write down for future research. You’ve been studying other mechanical aspects of the cars besides their engines, courtesy of Howard’s library, and you’ve been looking forward to trying to explain them to Giulia and to having someone to work with you on them.

You spend the whole afternoon going through each of those cars and the greased up, carefree, joyful image of your little sister during this afternoon will be always embedded in your memory as one of the moments she’s looked the happiest you’ve ever seen her.

You and Giulia are both working under a car when you hear the sound of heels clicking their way through the garage and soon enough red heels appear on your line of vision.

“I can’t believe I’m surprised you two are still out here. Ana and Linda will arrive in half an hour, get your arses up.” Peggy sounds half-amused and half-exasperated and when you check your wrist watch you’re surprised by how much you had lost track of time.

You roll out from under the car and then help Giulia up before you turn to give Peggy a shy smile as you try to rub the grease off your hands with an almost as dirty hag.

“Sorry, we totally lost track of time. Are you just getting back now?” Peggy nods and you give her a pointed look that she smiles off. “Ok. Everyone to the showers. We don’t have much time.” Giulia quickly takes off with a little smile, leaving you and Peggy alone.

Peggy doesn’t waste any time, she steps closer to you and places a hand on your hip to press you against the car. Her free hand grabs your bare neck to pull you into a kiss. You want desperately to grab any part of her, but mindful of your dirty hands you settle for pressing them against the car for support. When Peggy pulls away with a soft nip to your bottom lip, you let out a shuddering breath before opening your eyes. She smiles as she rubs off what you’re sure is her red lipstick around your mouth.

“I’d like to make it known that I wouldn’t mind to get home and find you dressed like this and working on the cars more often.” You audibly swallow down the excessive saliva on your mouth when Peggy fixes you with her best smoldering look. “You look **incredible**.” Your brain takes a second to stop imagining a thousand different scenarios that start with Peggy getting home and finding you in the garage and end with both of you naked, sweaty and thoroughly satisfied. When you’re finally able to answer your voice is rough and scratchy thanks to your dry throat.

“That’s good to know, I’ll certainly keep that in mind.” You lean in for another kiss, but Peggy pulls away with a wide grin.

“You do that, darling. Now let’s go shower. Chop chop.” You let out a loud, deep sigh before you step away from the car and start moving. Peggy falls into step behind you, her hands grabbing your shoulders and massaging them lightly as you two move in synchrony.

Peggy’s hands move to help you undress as soon as you walk into your bathroom, unclasping your overalls and tugging the rest of your clothes off. She bats your greased hands away from her clothes when you try to repay the favor and just tells you to fill the bathtub. You do as she says and then watch from the bathroom as Peggy undresses, folds her work clothes carefully and places them on the table in the bedroom.

When the bathtub is full you turn off the tap and step into it, settling down against the wall. You quickly scrub your hands clean and while you’re scrubbing your torso Peggy steps back into the bathroom, hair pinned up. Your eyes follow her naked form as she makes her way to the bathtub. She steps into the tub as you spread your legs and she quickly settles down with her back against your front. You place a series of kisses over her neck and start washing her back and her arms.

Your hands make their way to her front and scrub her stomach before you move them to her breasts. You massage them with soft squeezes and Peggy leans her head against your shoulder with a shuddering breath. Her defined jaw looks so inviting from your position that you can’t help but place small nips through it. When you reach her neck, ready to lash your mouth onto it, she stops your wandering hands and leans away from your body. Peggy turns around and slips away to the other end of the tub with a pointed look and you sigh before going back to washing your own body, a lot less curvy and fun than hers.

You and Peggy finish up quickly without the distraction of your bare, wet bodies pressed together. You step out first, wrapping a towel around your body and walk to the bedroom to choose a dress. Just as you lay down your chosen plain, white dress in the bed Peggy steps out of the bathroom, completely naked and comes to stand beside you. The temptation to reach for her soft body is so strong that you get dressed in record time to avoid giving into it. When you finally look at Peggy again she’s smiling knowingly at you. She turns her back to you with a quiet _‘Would you?’_ and you step forward to zip up her dress and then leave a quick kiss to the bullet scars on her right bare shoulder.

After you two step into your flats and make quick work of your hairs and basic make-up, you grab Peggy’s hand and walk back to the main room where Giulia is sitting on an armchair with the book she grabbed from the library yesterday. She looks up to smile at you but goes right back to reading, so you and Peggy settle on one of the couches. You lean your head on her shoulder when she begins to massage your hand that’s still wrapped around hers, rubbing both her thumbs over it.

You think you’re starting to fall asleep until the bell rings and Giulia leaps up from the armchair with an excited yelp. You get up to answer the door with a laugh at the way Peggy is staring wide eyed at Giulia. You warned her about what she would witness once Giulia and Linda were in the same place. As soon as you open the door Linda presses a covered dish into your hands and rushes inside.

“Now, _dónde está mi niñita?_ ” You hear another excited yelp from your sister and you roll your eyes, grumbling about ungrateful best friends and sisters. Ana walks in right after her with another dish in her hands, she’s laughing as she leans down to press a kiss on your cheek.

“Hey, Angel. Don’t mind her, she’s been bouncing around the house all day like crazy because she was so excited to see Giu.” You smile at her as you hip-check the door closed and then follow Ana to the main room where Giulia and Linda are still locked in a tight hug. Ana walks right up to them and plants a kiss on Giulia’s head. You can’t stop the way your eyes water instantly at the scene. It warms your heart how Giulia has pretty much become their little sister, too. She’s so absolutely loved by the people in your life.

You watch as Peggy and Ana greet each other with a quick hug before Peggy comes over and grabs the dish from your hands with a small, knowing smile. She and Ana are walking towards the kitchen when Linda finally lets go of your sister and you can’t help the quip that escapes your lips.

“Great seeing you, too, Linda.” They both turn to look at you and Giulia rolls her eyes while Linda smirks smugly.

“I haven’t seen her in over two months and you saw her yesterday, Ange. Jesus, you two are so codependent.” You hear Peggy and Ana burst into laughter from the kitchen and you can feel your cheeks bursting with heat. Linda keeps that wide smirk on her face as she stalks towards you.

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Superstar. I know you met me first but the kind of connection Giu and I have cannot be explained.” You roll your eyes **hard** and Linda chuckles as she wraps you up into a tight hug that you immediately reciprocate. She pulls away and rubs her hands together and the look on her face tells you you’ll regret many things tonight. “Ok, I had a whole itinerary for tonight just let me…” She turns around in circles looking over the room before she settles her eyes in the fireplace. “Ha! That’s a good place to start.” She walks up to the fireplace and you close your eyes tightly, deciding that your only regret will probably be to have invited Linda over.

As soon as she reaches the fireplace she grabs your picture with Peggy, like you knew she would. This is the first time she’s seeing Giulia since you started dating and she hasn’t gotten to do this particular act with her yet. The thought that you’re the only actress in this bunch of dramatic people is very surprising. Linda is smiling widely as she turns to Giulia, holding out the picture for her.

“You seen this photo, Giu?” Linda’s voice sounds so joyfully malicious, like she just found out the homophobic waitress that always gives Ana ugly looks is sleeping with another girl. It sort of makes you want to hit her in the head with the framed picture.

“I have! It’s such a cute picture.” God bless your sister’s little innocent heart. Linda snorts loudly and you drop on one of the armchairs to prepare yourself for this.

“Did they tell you the story of it?” Peggy’s loud groan announces that she has gotten back just in time to get through this with you. Ana laughs and gives Linda a fond look while you whine and hide your face against Peggy’s arm when she leans against your armchair.

“She’s only been able to tell this story once, to Teresa, humor her.” Linda leans to peck Ana’s lips in thanks for her encouragement. Not that she needed any, really.

“They didn’t, tell me.” You groan again, shooting your sister a betrayed look that she just shrugs off.

Ana goes over to Giulia, wrapping an arm around her while Linda stands in the center of your little group, readying herself.

“Ok, so it was a day like any other at the automat, you know, lunch rush had just ended, Teresa had already left and Angie was just starting her shift. We were just talking at the counter for a bit when leggy Peggy here just storms in, all stoic and glare-y.” Giulia and Ana snort loudly and Linda smiles proudly at their reaction. “She grabs Angie by the arm and just **hauls** her out back. It was honestly the most unsubtle thing I’ve ever seen, not even Ana and I were ever that unsubtle.” You and Peggy whine in protest but Linda just glares, daring you to interrupt her moment again. “Anyway, not even ten minutes later she walks back in at a normal pace and even stops to smile at me before walking out the automat.” Peggy squeezes your hand between hers and groans quietly and her reaction makes this story just a tiny bit amusing for you. “Right after her comes Angie looking like a **mess**. Red lipstick all over her mouth, shirt untucked and trying to place her hat back on top of her mucked up hair. She was so flustered she couldn’t even tell me what the hell that was about while she tried to fix herself.” You hide quietly behind the hand you’ve placed over your face in hopes nobody sees how red you’re sure you look. “I had never seen her like that, she could not formulate a coherent thought throughout the whole day, _te lo juro_. That is, of course, until Carter came back just before closing, then she was all chatty again and with that ridiculous smile on her face.” Linda points to the picture and you bury your face further into your hand. “They were so gross when they started dating, honestly.”

“They still are.”

“GIU!” Your head shoots up from behind your hands and you glare at her even though you can still feel how red your whole face probably is.

“I meant it in the nicest way, I promise. I hope to find someone to be this gross with someday.” You give her a look but she just smiles innocently at you.

You remember that day vividly as the day you realized Peggy Carter can absolutely ruin you. It did happen pretty much like Linda said. Peggy hauled you out back, ignored your _‘Hey, Peg’_ and just pressed you against the wall, crashing her lips against yours. By then you had begun to read her moods a lot better and she was absolutely exhaling frustration. So you did what any good girlfriend would do – you gave back as hard as you were getting. Soon she had untucked your shirt from the skirt and had a hand running over your bare stomach while the other had pushed your hat off so she could slip her hand into your hair and tug on it.

It didn’t take you long to need more than that. You pulled Peggy into the bathroom, locked the door, pressed her against it and made her come while only touching her over her clothes. You’re not ashamed to admit it had taken you ten days of dating while living together until you two had sex for the first time. Not when it had been months of wanting it since the first time you thought of getting Peggy naked and under you.

Peggy had smiled at you and told you she’d be back after your shift so you could go home together – it was a sort of unspoken rule that during your shifts she couldn’t reciprocate.  You barely had time to reach out and wipe off the lipstick from around her mouth and she was gone. And, as Linda said, you’d been a flustered mess through the whole day, barely being able to stop thinking about kissing Peggy long enough to get people’s orders. Linda had laughed every single time she caught you spacing out, daydreaming about Peggy and her lips and her hands and her legs and, **Lord** , her breasts.

You’re brought back by those same lips pressing small kisses against what you’re sure it’s a still flaming red cheek. Peggy stands up and uses her most authoritative voice to command the room.

“Alright, embarrassing story time over. Why don’t you set the table while I go grab some wine? Do you want to come with me, Giulia? I don’t think Angie showed you the cellar last night, right?” Sure enough everyone stands up without protest, except for Linda who waits until Peggy shoots her a glare to stand up and hop out after Ana towards the kitchen. You wait another minute just to watch Peggy and Giulia walking towards the other hall, arms wrapped around each other, and then move on after your friends.

Linda has already grabbed the cutlery and the table cloth and Ana the plates so you rush to grab the glasses and the three of you go over to the dining room. Linda sits on one of the chairs and watches you and Ana set the table. Sadly, you can’t really complain since she cooked all the food tonight and she would have no qualms about throwing that on your face.

“So, how is it going with those two?” Linda asks in a very conversational tone, but the way she’s staring intently at you gives away that she knows how much this weekend means to you and that she’s been nervous for you.

“Really, really well. Better than I ever dreamed. They get along great and they already feel comfortable around each other. It feels like a dream honestly.” You return the smiles that they both give you while you set the cutlery cautiously, not looking forward for another lecture from Linda about proper cutlery placement.

“I told you from the beginning, if Carter fell for **you** she had no chance against that adorable little genius.” Ana passes behind Linda and hits her on the back of her head with her free hand before placing a glass in front of her plate.

“What Linda is **trying** to say is that Peggy knows how important this is for you, we had no doubt it would go wonderfully.” You smile thankfully at Ana before sticking your tongue out in Linda’s direction.

“I’m sure I meant what I said and not that,” Linda grumbles while she rubs the back of her head with a pout. You laugh and kiss the top of her head while you place her cutlery down. She smiles warmly at you and wraps her arms around your waist, giving it a tight squeeze before letting go.

Peggy and Giulia walk back in, the first with a couple of wine bottles in each of her hands and the latter with the water jar, just as the timer goes off in the oven and Linda and Ana stand up to go get the food. They come back a minute later and set the two dishes on the table before taking their places on Peggy’s left side.

“ _Empanadas!_ ” Giulia beams at Linda who gives her a coy wink. “I tried to make them at home again, but mom shut me down.” She pouts and Linda connects the tips of her fingers to her thumb and shakes her hand back and forth in a traditional Italian move.

“Only real Italian food, Giulia!” Linda does a great impression of your mother’s thick Italian accent and you all laugh loudly while Peggy just looks on with a confused smile. You grab her hand and she turns her attention to you while Linda serves the food.

“Linda went back home with me once a while ago and Giulia begged mom to let her cook and she made _empanadas_. At the first bite mom spit the food out and gulped down the whole jar of water while glaring at Linda and talking about the Devil’s food and how only real Italian food would be served in her house.” Linda smiles proudly as you tell the story and Peggy laughs even as she looks slightly concerned at the couple of _empanadas_ at her plate.

You all dig in and eat while Linda talks about the gossip you missed for not being on shift yesterday. Peggy gets through her first couple of meat filled _empanadas_ before she very casually asks you to pass the jar of water. Linda narrows her eyes and watches as Peggy slowly fills her cup and calmly drinks the water.

“You’re being a really good sport tonight, Carter,” Linda basically sing-songs and Peggy glares at her as she fills yet another cup.

“Angie’s been slowly preparing me for this since last time.” Linda nods with a little smirk and Giulia looks at you questioningly. You roll your eyes fondly in Linda’s direction and swallow your food.

“The second week we were living here we invited them for dinner and Linda made some _enchiladas_. In Peggy’s defense even though I’m more used to Linda’s spicy food it still made my throat burn and my eyes water after the first bite. I wasn’t quick enough to warn Peggy and after she ate a mouthful her face got all red as she spluttered. She downed her glass of wine before running to the kitchen to get some water while Linda basically cried of laughter.” Giulia gives Peggy a consoling smile as she squeezes her hand and Linda looks on in shock, her face twisted in fake betrayal.

“It’s her fault for being boring even with her food. Isn’t Peggy a totally boring phone company worker, Giu?” All of you know that Linda is just being her annoying self, but Giulia still chokes on her drink of water and splutters while she looks from Peggy to you and back to Peggy and you both try to contain your laughter at her deer in headlights expression. She quickly recovers and lets out a loud laugh.

“Oh, yeah, **so** boring. But also really amazing, too.” Not even Linda is able to contain her smile at the way Peggy and Giulia give each other fond, understanding looks.

The dishes end up completely empty, your stomachs full and laziness settles over the table. Giulia insists on cleaning up everything and sends the four of you back to the main room with the two closed wine bottles that survived dinner.

Linda drapes herself on the most comfortable couch while you take a seat on the loveseat beside her. Ana goes straight to the record player to put some music on and Peggy stands behind the bar, pouring two glasses of scotch for them. They soon join you and Linda and you cuddle up to Peggy’s side right after she settles beside you. Linda rests her head on Ana’s lap and she runs her fingers through Linda’s hair absentmindedly. The four of you settle into a post-dinner bliss, the only sound in the room coming from the record player. The silence between you all is as comfortable as ever. These are your people.

The first notes of ‘Rumors are Flying’ ring through the room and Linda let’s out an excited whoop before she gets off the couch, grabs Ana’s drink from her hand and places it on the table and then offers her hand to her. Ana smiles widely and grabs her hand, letting Linda pull her up and to the middle of the room where they hug each other and begin to sway softly to the music. You smile at how happy your friends look until Peggy gently pushes you off her so she can move. You watch as she stands up, grabs your glass from your hand and places it with hers on the table, beside Ana’s glass. She then grabs your hand and bows down to kiss it, a soft grin on her face as she looks at you through her eyelashes.

“May I have this dance?” Peggy’s voice is all breathy and it makes something flip in your stomach. It’s a cheap move and it works wonders on you. You’ll blame it on Peggy’s accent, as you do with most things.

“Yes, you may, gorgeous.” You let her pull you up, but you’re the one to lead her to where Linda and Ana are. Dancing is your thing after all. You wrap your arms around her neck as Peggy’s hands grab your waist, your bodies pressed together. You begin to sway just as Marjorie Hughes’s voice fills the room. Her hands run through your back after she presses her face against your neck and you catch Ana’s eyes over Peggy’s shoulder. She smiles at you while she slides her hand into Linda’s hair, whose head is resting against Ana’s chest. You think this must be the Heaven your mom talks about so much.

The third song that plays is a more upbeat one and you’re mid-laugh while Peggy twirls you when you spot Giulia leaning against the door frame that leads to the hallway, a small smile on her face. You smile back at her, stop to give Peggy a quick kiss before you hop your way towards your sister. She’s shaking her head before you even reach her, but you just nod with a huge smile and grab her hands, pulling her to where everyone is. You twirl Giulia around and dip her and she lets out the most wonderful laugh you’ve ever heard. You twirl together once more before Linda grabs her hand and pulls Giulia to dance in between Ana and her.

Peggy steps behind you, wrapping her arms around you and you two watch, with smiles on your faces, as Giulia jumps around, rather than dances, with Linda who looks more unrestrained than usual. Ana took her leave a while ago when the dancing turned too crazy for her and is now just leaning against the bar, watching them with a fond smile. When Giulia begins to look a little winded out Peggy steps forward and towards the two crazies. She offers her hand to Giulia with a little bow, not unlike the one she took for you earlier. Giulia takes it and curtsies jokingly. Peggy holds her hand and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her in and as she begins a little slow dance Giulia’s face turns beat red instantly. Linda laughs loudly from her place, wrapped up in Ana’s arms.

“Looks like you’ve got some competition for the English accent, Angie.” You smile as Peggy laughs and twirls your sister before letting go of her with a kiss to her hand. Giulia smiles shyly at her, her cheeks and ears still a bright pink and Peggy drops a kiss against her head before she grabs your hand and pulls you back to the loveseat. You cuddle up to Peggy and the others follow right after, sitting on the couch by her side.

The wine makes you feel warm and happy as you sip on it, not really participating in any of the conversations. Linda’s discussing with Giulia some new recipes she’s been trying out, trying to decide what they should make tomorrow and Peggy and Ana are discussing some social issue involved in one of Ana’s new cases, judging by the intense look in their faces. You feel too warm and happy and in peace to really pay attention to any of that. Peggy’s running her fingers through your hair and your eyes feel heavy, so you decide to close them just for a little bit.

A soft hand caressing your face pulls you out of your slumber and you open your eyes to find everyone looking at you with small smiles. You run your hands through your face as you straighten up and you realize your wine glass has somehow ended up on the table.

“What? Did I fall asleep?” Your question is met with quiet laughs and confirmations.

“C’mon, up we go. We’re actually going to bed now.” Peggy stands up and smiles at you as she reaches out to help you get up. Linda, Ana and Giulia walk in front of you, all huddled together, towards the hallway with the bedrooms.

Linda and Ana stop at the first door on the left, they press each a small kiss on Giulia’s head and wave at you and Peggy before entering the bedroom that has sort of become theirs since you moved in. Giulia tucks herself into your side for the rest of the way. When you reach your doors she kisses both you and Peggy on the cheek before walking into her bedroom. Peggy opens the door to your bedroom and you walk in after her, you both silently strip out of your clothes and slip under the blankets. You lay on your sides, facing each other and Peggy pulls you closer until your legs tangle up and you can feel her breath on your face. She wraps her arm tightly around your waist.  

“You know, I’m feeling like the luckiest girl tonight.” Peggy smiles softly at your confession and just sort of presses her lips against yours, without any intention beyond the simple contact.

“Me, too.” You let your hand trail up and down Peggy’s bare thigh that’s resting over yours and as your eyes take in Peggy’s face, her relaxed and content expression and the way her fingers are moving unpretentiously over your lower back you feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by something that you’ve known for a while now, by something that you’ve felt for longer than you’ll admit even to yourself. You search Peggy’s face for any indication that you shouldn’t say the words that you’ve thought a million times, but never had the courage to say out loud. You find nothing. Nothing but happiness and ease and so much tenderness.

“I love you, Peggy.” It comes out soft and hesitant, not at all how you had planned it and you watch closely as Peggy’s whole face just goes still, an empty look replaces the light that was in her eyes and you can tell that you’ve lost her to her own mind. You can tell she's far away, buried in thoughts and images you have no access to. Except for one image that you can see clearly in your own mind through her blank eyes. Steve. There’s more, you know there is, maybe she's thinking of Colleen's fate, maybe she's thinking about everything that happened in her life in the last months, maybe she's thinking about everything you've lived through together. Maybe. But she’s definitely thinking of Steve and you think you might have just royally mucked this up. _‘This is Captain America’s girl, what the hell do you think you’re doing?’,_ keeps running through your mind and for the first time you feel uncomfortable being this close to Peggy. Uncomfortable with your nakedness in this moment and at how you can feel every part of her body that’s pressed against yours. Uncomfortable just **being** with Peggy now that your feelings are irrevocably out there and you can’t pull them back in and Peggy is just not reacting at all.

You’re about to pull away, make up some excuse to go check on Giulia and just stay there for the night, but then Peggy’s eyes clear out. The warmth and tenderness are back in them, in a way that you haven’t seen before, and she’s smiling softly as her fingers trace your jaw reverently.

“I love you, too.” Her voice sounds so small yet genuine and tender, like she’s scared to say those words. And you figure that could be true, considering Peggy’s track record with love so far. Yours isn’t much better, so you can’t stop yourself from wondering, from wanting to make sure.

“You do?” Peggy’s smile widens and she pulls you into a kiss with the hand that’s still cradling your jaw. You figure she must realize how scared you were, too.

“I do. I’m in love with you, Angie.” Your heart beats so hard that you feel like it’s trying to get out of your chest and hand itself to Peggy. Your face splits up in a huge grin and you launch yourself on top of Peggy, pressing kisses all over her face. Her bubbly laugh makes you feel warm all over your body and you hold her face, placing a hard kiss against her lips as she grabs the back of your thighs and pulls your hips to rock against hers.

So maybe this isn’t the story of how the American hero gets the girl. Maybe it’s the story about how an Italian-American wannabe Broadway actress gets the girl in the end. But it’s more probable that Peggy’s the actual hero who’s getting the girl in the end. You’d be okay with both stories to be honest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. we're all growing up so fast (i wish that we could live forever)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which angie's dreams are coming true;  
> just not the one that involves her sister. not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set about two months after the show stopped. it'll be one chapter for each day of the weekend.
> 
> i just have very strong feelings about angie's family and angie being a big sister. also the veronicas' you and me is this fic's whole aesthetic.
> 
> come talk to me @ paigemcculers.tumblr.com if you want :)

The sun is high in the sky right above you, shining its warm light directly onto your skin. The bright rays force you to keep your eyes closed even behind your sunglasses, so you’re only able to feel the way the grass moves around you when legs press down on each side of your body. Then a soft, strong, curvy body is settling on top of you, blocking the sun and allowing you to open your eyes. Peggy’s bright smile is almost as blinding as the sun rays and certainly more heartwarming. She reaches to take off your sunglasses and lets out a bubbly laugh at the way you scrunch up your face, caught off guard by the bright light of day. Strong hands wrap around your arms and she pulls you up into a sitting position, as she effectively straddles your lap. You grab the back of her strong thighs under the flowy dress she’s wearing while she wraps her arms around your neck, a hand slipping into your hair, and pulls you into a playful kiss. It’s all slow, little pecks and soft nips in between laughter. Peggy pulls at your hair to expose your neck and she’s quick to place her mouth on it. A little moan escapes your lips and when you open your eyes you see a blurry figure over her shoulder. You narrow your eyes to try and see through the blinding sunlight and you finally recognize Dottie, standing a few feet away, a gun pointed at Peggy’s back. You freeze, unable to warn Peggy. You try to scream but no sound leaves your lips. Dottie tilts her head, giving you a small smirk before you see her pull the trigger. The loud sound of the shooting gun leaves your ears ringing as Peggy goes limp against your body and you’re finally able to scream. The ringing gets louder and more distinctive, almost like a phone.

Your body jolts you back into consciousness, the ringing phone blaring through the bedroom. The walls are cast in shadows instead of the usual light from the early mornings. You’re surprised by how late is seems to be and even more surprised that, by the sounds she’s making behind you, Peggy seems to have indulged in a little sleep in herself. Her body moves from her position spooning you and you turn around to follow it, cuddling in close to her as she reaches for the phone on the bedside table. That dream still playing in your mind vividly. You’ve been having them every other week ever since Peggy told you the truth about how dangerous her life is and about who Dottie really is. The scenarios are always different, but they all end the same way – with Dottie killing Peggy and you watching it happen, unable to do anything. It helps immensely that for the last two months you’ve woken up from them to the feeling of Peggy’s body pressed against yours.

She answers the phone with a barely understandable grunt and you’re amazed by how annoyed she manages to look even with her eyes closed. You pray that she doesn’t have to get up and go do some spying work - you want to spend Giulia’s last day here with all your girls.

It doesn’t seem to be the case because she cracks one eye open to look at you as she speaks more clearly.

“Yes, it is. Yes, please, just a second.” Peggy nods to the phone and mouths,  _‘For you’_ , looking as puzzled as you feel. You narrow your eyes in thought, quickly wondering if it could be your mother calling before you climb over Peggy, draping your bare body over hers to reach for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Miss Martinelli?” Definitely not your mother and not any female voice you recognize.

“Yes, this is she.”

“Good morning, Miss Martinelli, this is Lynn Waldorf. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Joshua Logan to inform you that you’ve been chosen for the role of Dolly Tate on ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ and to wonder if you’d be available for a meeting with Mr. Logan in his office, on Tuesday, at nine in the morning?” The loud beating of your heart in your ears is almost deafening as you stare at Peggy with your mouth hanging open. Her brow is furrowed in worry and she mouths,  _‘What is it?’,_ before a more panicked,  _‘Angie?’_ , but you just shake your head unable to say the words out loud. “Miss Martinelli?” That voice brings you back to reality.

The reality being that your dream is finally becoming true. You’re gonna be in a Broadway play. Your eyes instantly well up with tears as it all dawns on you and you feel Peggy’s hand moving up and down your back, certainly trying to comfort you for something that she still has no idea what it is.

“Yes, sorry. Tuesday at nine works great for me!” Peggy manages to look even more confused at your excited voice and your lips start to curl up.

“Wonderful, it’s scheduled then. See you on Tuesday, Miss Martinelli.”

“Yes, thank you for calling!”

“You’re welcome and congratulations.” The receiver clanks loudly when you drop it back into the base and you twist your body until you can sit comfortably on top of Peggy’s legs. She’s quick to sit up and her hands reach forward to wipe away the tears that are now falling from your eyes and down to a smile that you feel growing bigger each second.

“Angie, what happened? Why are you crying?” You reach up to stop her hands from wiping away any more tears and interlace the fingers of both your hands.

“I go- I got the part in ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ that I did the callback for,” you say in the softest voice you’ve probably ever used in your life, afraid that if you’re too loud you’ll wake up and this will have been a dream.

Peggy immediately drops your intertwined hands to rest on your thighs and her eyes are wide as she speaks just as softly.

“You did?”

“Unless this isn’t the metaphorical dream come true, but an actual dream. Please, tell me we’re both very much awake?” Peggy’s whole face lights up like Times Square at New Year’s Eve and she lets out a loud, bubbly laugh.

“Angie, you’re going to star in a Broadway musical!” That sentence said in Peggy’s voice echoes through your mind for a few seconds and you’re sure it’s the memory you’ll keep of this turning moment in your life. The way Peggy’s voice cracks in the middle of the sentence from excitement and how her accent is thicker and her voice rougher than usual from the surprising wakeup call. It makes you glad that it’s taken as long as it has for this to happen for you, because now you get to share it with Peggy. You get to share it with the woman you love and who just yesterday had said, out loud, that she’s in love with you.

The tears start to fall more quickly and you let out a choked laugh as you let go of Peggy’s hands to pull at her shoulders, bringing her into a crushing hug. She places a series of kisses on your neck and up your jaw until she reaches your mouth and starts a deep kiss that takes you the rest of the way straight up into cloud nine. Your hands tangle into her bed hair to pull her closer while her hands make their way up your body to cradle your face.

This especially earth-shattering kiss is interrupted by the uncontrollable laughter that bubbles out of your mouth and straight into Peggy’s, but she’s not at all fazed as she joins in on it.

“I’m going to Broadway!” You can’t believe that those words are leaving your mouth while you’re naked straddling the equally naked most beautiful and wonderful woman you could have ever dreamed of having by your side. You can’t believe this is your life.

“The floodlights are calling for you, my love. You’re going to **own** Broadway.” Peggy’s eyes are shinning with so much adoration and pride that you can’t help but tackle her into the bed and into another kiss.

“You’re damn right I will, English.” Before you can help it another laugh slips out of your mouth and you feel like you might never stop laughing, because life is so, so wonderful. You’re in love with an amazing woman who loves you back; you’re going to live your stage-life dreams; you have a sister who is a wonderful human being and two friends that are like family. You couldn’t be luckier an-

“Oh my god! I need to tell Giulia, Linda and Ana! Get up, Peg! Go raise those two from the world of the dead while I get Giu.” In a flash you’re out of the bed, throwing in a nightgown and tying your robe tightly around your body. Peggy follows quickly and when you open the door she’s right after you, tying her own robe.

She begins to bang loudly against the bedroom door at the other end of the hallway while yelling something indistinguishable in between laughter. You’ve honestly never seen her this giddy and it just fuels your own excitement. You knock just as loudly on Giulia’s door.

You’re sure you two look completely insane, banging on the doors while laughing uncontrollably.

Giulia opens her door with a frightened look, face marked by her pillow, at the same time you hear a string of Spanish curses that you just barely understand because of how much Linda uses them. Your arms wrap around Giulia in a hug before you lift her off the floor and spin her around. From over your sister’s shoulder you can see Linda looking from Peggy, who’s smiling bigger than she’s probably ever seen, then to you and back to Peggy with a half-terrified, half-annoyed look.

“What the hell is going on? Did you two hit your head during your activities last night?” Peggy shoots Linda a glare for her comment, but it’s overpowered by the huge grin still on her face. Ana is standing at the doorway looking confused, which she never does, and when you put Giulia back down she looks equally confused. You push her towards the others so they can all stand together and then you bounce back towards the middle of the hallway. You stand there with a huge smile.

“I GOT THE PART IN ‘ANNIE GET YOUR GUN’!” You throw your fists up in the air with an excited whoop and watch as realization dawns in each of their faces.

Giulia is the first to react and she screams at you and runs into your waiting arms. You watch over her shoulder as Linda brings a hand to her mouth and a few tears roll down her cheeks, but she wipes them away quickly and moves to join in the hug. Her arms wrap around your waist from your left side as she rests her head against your arm and your eyes immediately fill with water for the second time today. At the same time Ana joins in, wrapping an arm around Giulia and the other over your shoulders, you feel Peggy’s body pressing against your back and you let the tears roll down your face.

You’ve never felt so fulfilled in your life before.

Ana presses a kiss against your head with a murmured _‘Congratulations, Angel’_ before letting go of the group hug. You watch from the corner of your eye as she and Peggy hug each other tightly with small grins on their lips. Giulia is the next one to let go, face wet with tears and shining eyes that look at you like you’re earth’s mightiest hero.

“I knew you’d do it, Ange. I’m so proud.” You wink, blowing her a kiss before turning to Linda, who’s still hugging you. You run your hand that’s not trapped against her body through her hair and you hear small sniffles while she rubs her nose against your robe. When she finally looks up to you is with shinning eyes and one of those wonderful, bright smiles that are Linda’s trademark.

“It was about time it happened for you, Superstar. Congratulations.” You press a kiss against her forehead and she lets you go. “So you gonna play a bush in the background, right? You got the hair for it right now.” Her voice is teasing, but the smile in her face is still soft. You laugh loudly before pushing her away.

“You’re such an annoying jerk. I’m gonna play the supportive female role, for your information. Second more important female in the play.” You give her your tongue as you pat down your bed hair, but she’s not looking at you anymore. She’s got a thoughtful frown on her face as she stares at nothing.

“Wait, ‘Annie Get Your Gun’…” She turns to you with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. “ _Perra!_ You gonna be in a play with Ethel Merman?!” It takes you a second before you process the information. You look from Linda’s surprised face to Ana’s, whose comically shocked expression is the most you’ve ever seen her express with her face, then to Giulia who’s beaming excitedly and finally to Peggy, who just looks extremely confused.

“Oh, _cazzo!”_ The curse leaves your lips before you can stop it and at the same time as Ana exclaims, _‘Holy shit!’_

“The three of you are terrible influences for Giulia.” Nobody really pays Peggy any attention and she takes the bait. “Who’s this Ethel something?” **That** definitely catches everyone’s attention as they stare disbelievingly at her before turning their attention to you. You sigh deeply.

“Okay, yes, I still need to educate Peggy on a lot, but we’ve already started our theater history classes.” You move to her side and kiss her cheek. “I’ll tell you all about her tonight, okay?” She nods and wraps her arms around you.

“So today asks for something special, right?” Linda’s rubbing her hands together with a thoughtful expression. “It’s already past ten. Would you rather go out to a restaurant or we make a lot of food and have a picnic in the garden?” You look to Giulia with an arched eyebrow, leaving the choice to her. She stares at you and Peggy, wrapped up in each other’s arms, before looking at Ana and Linda, the former pressed against the wall with Linda tucked under her arm. She smiles warmly at you.

“Definitely a picnic.” You smile softly at her and she winks at you. “I wouldn’t pass up a chance to cook with Linda.” Linda whoops loudly in agreement and you roll your eyes at them.

Everyone goes to their rooms to get changed and you meet again in the kitchen. Ana, Peggy and you sit at the counter and watch as Linda and Giulia bounce around the kitchen, aprons tied to their waists, picking ingredients and talking to each other so quickly in a mix of English, Italian and Spanish that you can barely understand. Peggy and Ana, who can’t cook to save their lives, look on incredibly confused.

“You know, I do love how that butler of yours stocks your kitchen with just about everything that you could think of.” Linda has met Jarvis a total of two times and she swears on her mother’s life he must be Peggy’s long lost brother.

“Not our butler,” you answer as she places a bowl and a half dozen different fruits on the counter.

“Yeah, sure. Slice ‘em.” She goes back to where Giulia is mixing something and the three of you begin to cut the fruits to put in the bowl.

The air is light and soothing in the kitchen as the only sounds come from the knives slicing through the fruits and the mixer being turned on and off as Giulia and Linda make some kind of dough. After a few minutes Ana turns to you, speaking loud enough so everyone could hear if they wanted to.

“So when are you meeting with the producers?”

“Oh, on Tuesday morning.” She puts her knife down as she nods along to her thoughts before turning to you with one of those smiles that most people think are forced, but you’ve learned to see the softness and sincerity in it, past Ana’s serious persona.

“I’m certain I’m free on Tuesday morning and I’d like to go with you to the meeting.” Everyone turns to look at Ana and she shifts on her stool, straightening her back into a rigid line.

“Okay. You mean as my lawyer?” She relaxes immediately at your understanding and the soft smile is back in her face.

“Yes. I’d like to read over the contract and see what they’re offering you before you sign anything. Also they’ll probably give you a few options of agencies **they** think would be good to manage your career seeing as this is your first big play. We need to choose well, I’ll do some research on it so I can go prepared.” You feel incredibly stupid that you had not thought about any of those things, you were just so excited about the acting part. Ana’s hand covers yours and she gives it a little squeeze that makes you look up at her. “Hey, you just enjoy this moment, ok? This is **your** moment, let me worry about all of this legal stuff.” You smile back and give her hand a grateful squeeze.

“It’ll be pretty sweet to show up at this meeting with my own private lawyer.” Ana lets out a little laugh before she goes back to slicing.

“Look at you being all fancy already, Superstar.” Linda gives you a little smirk before placing half a dozen potatoes on the counter in front of you. “Peel and slice ‘em in cubes, will ya?” You glare at her back as she walks away, letting out a little huff before you pick up the first potato.

“You know, I’m the only one in this counter that can actually cook something. You sure you don’t need me to help with anything else **but** slicing and peeling?” Linda and Giulia look at each other and it seems like they are having a whole discussion just by tilting their heads and moving their eyebrows.

“Nah, thanks. We’re handling it.” They turn back to the sink counter with identical grins and you huff again before focusing on your potato. Peggy laughs beside you and leans in to place a kiss on your temple. You smile at her and then pucker your lips and she’s quick to place a kiss against them.

After you’ve all finished your chores, the three of you just watch as Giulia and Linda work in an almost rehearsed rhythm, with Giulia cracking an egg into the mixer without Linda having to ask and Giulia grabbing the mixer from her without a word so Linda can look through the cabinets for something they need. It’s lovely to see the companionable way they dance around each other and finish each other’s actions, a few comments and laughs in between.

Suddenly Peggy stands up and walks out of the kitchen just as Ana begins to discuss with you the details for Tuesday morning. You’re in the middle of arguing over which of Ana’s dresses you should borrow for the meeting when you hear a few loud, distinguished _clicks_. In the kitchen doorway is Peggy, the camera covering her face trained on Linda and Giulia, who are now posing for her with huge smiles. The camera turns to you and Ana and you both lean closer to each other so Peggy can take a couple of shots. When she lowers the camera you look at her with raised eyebrows but she just shrugs.

“We need more pictures of all of us.” You smile at her with a soft,  _‘Aww’,_ and she rolls her eyes.

“Ok, picture time over. You can all get out now. We’re gonna perform some tasty magic in this kitchen and you’ll only be in the way.” You start to protest, but decide to follow Peggy and Ana, who were quick to vanish from the kitchen.

When they walk back into the main room with their respective suitcases and work files, you’re cuddled up on the bigger couch studying the excerpt of the script and the character description the producers gave you for the callback. Peggy leaves the table to Ana and comes to sit with you. You press your bare feet under her thigh and she glances at you with a small smile before beginning to work. Administrative file for the phone company, she tells Ana when questioned about working on a Sunday and you have to hold in a laugh.

The three of you work in a comfortable silence for over an hour before Giulia comes out of the kitchen asking for your help in there and for Ana and Peggy to set up outside. They walk to the kitchen with you to grab plates, napkins, forks and glasses – per Linda’s instructions – before they walk out. You’re put in the making fresh orange juice task while they finish organizing the food in three different bowls and grab the fruit salad bowl from the refrigerator. The juice is placed in a thermos and the three of you balance all the food in your arms at least three times before deciding they are secure enough.

When you walk to the back garden, through the garage, is to find that Ana and Peggy had set the blanket past the shrubs of roses and closer to the bedrooms, under the shadows of the big tree that has yet to give any flowers or fruits so you have no idea what species it is. But it’s very tall with large leaves and it casts a wide shadow on the ground. You sit on the blanket in a circle around the food and when Giulia and Linda take off the covers you inspect what they made with a huge smile.

“Fried _polentas_ , _tortilla de papas, grostolis_ **and** fruits _._ ” Linda and Giulia look extremely pleased with themselves when you turn to smile playfully at them.“What a great mixed cultural lunch, thank you.”

“The _grostolis_ are for dessert with the fruits, though,” Linda  says as slaps your hand away when you reach for one. She then closes the bowl and you pout at her before going for some _polentas_ instead.

Even though Peggy’s got a mouthful of _tortilla de papas_ only a minute after you begin to eat, she still makes Linda explain what everything is and how it’s made and you figure is more to annoy her than anything else. Implying that any of the food she makes could be anything other than excellent is the most effective way Peggy’s found to do it.

Lunch is spent with Peggy and Linda bickering and teasing each other and Giulia and Ana trying to convince the rest of you to go to an art exposition that would be opening in the city in a few months.

At one point Peggy hand feeds you half of her _polenta_ after taking a bite of it and follows it with a small kiss to your lips and Linda fake gags so hard you are afraid Peggy will conjure a gun out of thin air to shoot her. That’s how deadly her glare was. When Ana did the same for her a few minutes later, Linda turned redder than you’ve ever seen her and Peggy teased her mercilessly.

The clock marks something way past one o’clock, Peggy’s seated against the tree and you’re leaning against her body while sitting between her legs. You’re both munching on the _grostolis_ , which Peggy swears is the most delicious snack she’s ever eaten and that you will have to start making those. Meanwhile Linda and Ana attack the bowl with fruits, playfully fighting over the mangoes.

Giulia has been very quiet for a while now, only giving small smiles, every now and then, that never reached her eyes. You stretch your leg as much as you can until you reach with your bare toe to poke her leg and get her attention. She drops her eyes from the sky to look at you and you pat the space between your legs softly. She gives you one of those empty smiles and moves to sit in front of you. You wrap your arms around her waist and pull her closer until she leans against your front.

“Hey, _bambina_ , you okay?” Giulia leans her head against your shoulder to look up at you and gives you a small nod. You don’t believe her for a second, so you squeeze her waist and give her a pointed look. She takes a deep breath.

“Just not looking forward to going back home.” Your heart instantly drops to the bottom of your stomach and you tighten your arms around her. You feel Peggy’s body tensing up behind you as well. You try to make your voice sound as cheery as you can when you speak.

“Well, we still have about six hours before he comes to get you. We can do a lot in that time.” Giulia looks down to pick at the hem of her dress. “And- hey, look at me.” She looks back up hesitantly and you muster up your most confident smile. For both your sakes you need to sound more confident than you truly feel. “You’ll be back here sooner than you think. For good, ok?” She gives you a shy smile and it finally reaches her eyes. It does little to help how heavy your heart feels, though.

“Hey, happy family. Say ‘cheese’.” You look up to see that Linda’s face is hidden behind the camera. Peggy leans forward and presses her right cheek against your left and you press yours against Giulia’s head. While you smile at the clicking camera you decide you’ll do your best so the last hours you still have with your sister will be as happy as the rest of the weekend has been.

The five of you spend another half an hour just resting under the tree, letting the food settle down. Before any of you can be lured into sleep, however, you shake Giulia in your arms and speak loudly.

“Okay, Giu. What do you wanna do now? Stores around Times Square? A walk in Central Park?” Giulia laughs as you sway her from one side to the other and try to put as much excitement in your voice as you can.

“Yeah, you’re the boss, shorty.”

“I’m only an inch shorter than you.” Linda looks extremely offended at that and you all laugh at her face. None of you mention that it is actually true. Not even Ana who leans down to press a kiss on Linda’s pout. “Central Park sounds good. See some faces other than yours, some nature.”

“It’s decided then.” The bowls are closed and your little camp dismantled quickly.

You all take the leftover food to the kitchen and do some quick work on the dirty dishes. You tell the others not to worry about the rest of the kitchen, that tomorrow the cleaning lady comes to do a full sweep on the house while you’re both at work. You still feel extremely ridiculous having someone come to clean the house you live in, but you and Peggy had discussed it and decided you couldn’t simply put a woman out of her job, so you’ve kept her.

Already sitting on the red Plymouth P15C – the car that you drive so often it’s kind of become yours - Peggy, Ana and you wait at the garage. Linda and Giulia come back from getting changed and the former freezes as she sees Ana in the backseat, letting out a loud groan.

“Ana, baby, why can’t we go in your car? Do we have to go with **her** driving?” Giulia looks confusedly from Linda to you and you grin widely. Peggy lets out a bolstering laugh and explains.

“Ana got caught up at work one day and Linda accepted a ride home from Angie and let’s just say she didn’t enjoy the experience much.” Linda glares as you both laugh, but still follows Giulia into the backseat.

"I swear I felt my soul leave my body and come back at least three times that night. And to think people say we, queer folks, don’t have souls." You shoot her a grin through the rearview mirror.

“I promise I won’t rush this time.” You put your foot down on the pedal and at the roaring of the motor Linda jumps, startled. She glares at you through the rearview mirror and you just grin at her, put your sunglasses over your eyes and take off. 

Linda spends the whole half an hour ride from Riverdale to Central Park latched onto the handle of the car door and her terror helps dissipate any dark mood anyone could have been in. It takes you a few minutes to find a decent parking spot close to the park, but as soon as you do Linda bolts right out of the car.

“C’mon now, Linda. My _nonna_ used to drive faster than I just did. And you **know** I’m a good driver.” You give her a pointed look and she smirks knowingly, even though her face is still a bit pale. You’ve told Linda, while drunk, about some of the getaway driver jobs you had done for your family every now and then and how good you were at it.

Nobody ever got caught while you were driving.

“I do. I’m just used to Ana’s slower-than-a-turtle way of driving and you race around the city like you’re running from the police.” You and Ana glare at Linda and push her forward at the same time, then turn to grin at each other while Linda complains of being mistreated.

You choose to ignore the suspicious look Peggy shoots your way after Linda’s comment.

From the entrance of the park it’s already clear that it’s a packed day. You link your arm through Giulia’s and offer the other to Peggy. She gives you a soft smile and a wink, but then moves to link her arm through Giulia’s free one. Linda and Ana stroll beside you, arms linked.

The sun shines brightly, warming your skins. The careless laughter from the children running around makes everything seem even lighter, weightless. It makes you wish you could go back to when you and Giulia were children, when everything was easier, even if only because you weren’t aware of anything.

You’ve been strolling lazily through the park for a while when you spot a Cocker Spaniel puppy running in your direction and your heart skips a beat. A smile spreads across your face immediately and you let go of Giulia’s arm to jog a few steps forward. You kneel down to wait and it stops right in front of you, fluffy, light brown ears hanging down and tail wagging quickly. You reach to rub between its ears.

“Hey, little guy, look at how cute you are!” you say in a high pitched voice and you hear the girls laughing as they stand behind you. The puppy turns its belly up and you laugh delightedly as you begin to rub it. It’s then that you realize. “Oh, you’re a girl. Sorry, honey. Are you here alone?” You reach up to rub her fluffy neck and your hand bumps against the tiny collar. “You got a collar. Where’s your family, gorgeous?” You pick her up and hold her close to your face as if it’d make her answer you. The puppy is quick to lick your cheek and you laugh happily.

A little girl running in your direction, tripping over her feet in her haste, catches your attention.

 “Is that your tiny human?” you ask the puppy with the same high pitched voice and it tries to lick you again. The little girl stops right in front of you, panting slightly, and looks back and forth between you and the puppy. She can’t be older than four and her brown hair is in two pigtails. She’s absolutely adorable and you feel your insides melting. “Hi, honey. Is she your puppy?” The little girl nods shyly, her pigtails bouncing around with the movement. “Here you go, then.” You place the puppy in the girl’s little arms and she hugs it tightly. It makes you smile even as you worry that she’ll squash the dog with her strong grip. “Take good care of her, okay? She’s your best friend.” She looks at you very seriously and nods, her grip slacking a bit after she presses a kiss against the puppy’s head.

“Thank you, pretty lady. She was running fast, couldn’t catch her.” She smiles at you and you melt further at her missing front tooth.

“You’re welcome, honey. Now, do you know where your parents are?” She nods and points behind her to where a couple is standing a few feet away, watching your interaction. You wave at them and they smile at you while the girl makes her way back to them, the puppy hanging from her arms.

She turns back to shout a, _‘Bye, lady’,_ in your direction. You laugh and return the farewell. When you walk back to your girls, Peggy is just staring at you, a tender look in her face.

“I am so in love with you.” The sentiment comes out of Peggy’s lips with such ease and affection it makes your heart speed up. You think you could hear that for the rest of your life and never get tired. You smile brightly at her while the others look on surprised.

“That mean you’ll let me get a puppy for our house?” You wind your hands together tightly so you don’t reach out to touch her in a much more intimate way than the public setting allows you.

“Ha! Maybe someday, love.” You pout and Peggy reaches forward to slip an inexistent lose hair behind your ear, her hand trailing down your cheek subtly as she pulls away.

“Wait a minute, you two in the professing-our-love-out-loud stage already? Since when? It was literally one day that we didn’t see each other!” Linda looks very surprised and offended that she wasn’t privy to this development.

“If you **must** now, Linda, since last night.” Peggy sounds annoyed, but amusement is dancing in her eyes. Linda looks even more surprised at her answer.

“ **You** were the first to say it?” Peggy glares heavily at the implied message in Linda’s surprised tone.

“I’ll ignore the tone of your voice for your own benefit. And no, it was Angie.” She nods, but doesn’t say anything else. Peggy’s threat sounding convincing enough for her to know when to shut her mouth.

“I’m glad I was here for it.” Giulia smiles happily at the two of you and her face finally lights up again. You and Peggy wrap your arms around each of Giulia’s again and you continue your lazy stroll.

The wind picks up speed and it hits your faces in a cold sweep when you reach the duck pond beneath the bridge. The cold wind makes you all sit huddled together on the grass at the edge of the pond. You spend close to an hour there, just enjoying the view and people watching in between light conversation.

The rest of the walk around the park, until you make your way back to where you started, is mostly done in silence, all of you very aware that the weekend is coming to an end and what that means.

Linda and Ana spend the whole ride back home cuddled up to Giulia who’s sitting quietly in the middle seat, a small frown on her face. Peggy’s hand doesn’t leave your thigh, giving it soft squeezes while shooting you worried looks every time you look to the rearview mirror.

As soon as the car is parked inside the garage the girls get out, but Peggy grabs your hand, keeping you inside.

“Angie, are you alright?” The steering wheel is hard against your forehead when you press your face down on it with your eyes closed while taking in deep breaths. Peggy’s thumb runs over the inside of your wrist in soothing circles.

When you feel a little bit more in control of yourself you turn to smile sadly at her. She meets your nod with a quirk of her lips and she slides closer to you through the seat, pulling you into a tight hug. She presses a sweet, lingering kiss against your lips and runs her thumb over your cheekbone before you both get out of the car.

Linda and Giulia are locked in a tight hug when you walk into the main room and Ana is waiting by the entrance hall, suitcase in hand. You and Peggy walk out the front door with her, give her quick goodbye hugs and she promises she’ll stop by the automat during your shift tomorrow. Linda and Giulia walk out still wrapped up in each other and Linda presses a kiss against her head before letting go. She hugs Peggy and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving to hug you. The hug is tight, Linda’s hand squeezing your back as she presses her face against your neck.

“Give me a ride tomorrow morning?” she mumbles against your neck from where nobody else can hear her.

“I thought you hated the way I drive,” you whisper, lips pressed against her hair and Linda pinches your side as she pulls away, small smiles on both of your lips. “See you tomorrow morning.” They walk to their cars, get in and wave through the window before driving away.

When you turn back to the house, Giulia is nowhere in sight. You share a concerned glance with Peggy and you both rush inside.

You find her sitting at the piano, the lid is open and she’s running her fingers lightly through the keys. The floor creaks under your feet when you walk towards her and in this moment you sort of wish Peggy had taught you how to walk silently through the wooden floor. You grab her shoulders when you reach her and knead them softly. She looks at you and then scoots to the edge of the stool.

“Can you teach me a little bit?” You try not to look as surprised as you feel by the random request while you sit down beside her on the piano stool. You correct her posture and place her right hand over the right keys.

“You gotta keep your hands elevated while playing, no resting your wrists on the piano.” She nods seriously and holds her hand in position. “Now, the one in your thumb is ‘do’.” Giulia hits the key forcefully and you wince at the loud noise that rings through the big room. “Yeah, just press it more softly, okay?” She looks at you with a sheepish smile and nods and you can’t help but ruffle her hair softly. “Index finger is ‘re’.” Giulia presses it softly and the note rings clearly through the room. She smiles triumphantly and you laugh. You go through the rest of the keys with her and then make her repeat them on her own before giving her a short sequence to play out.

She’s doing great, keeping her posture and good hand motion, until she realizes Peggy is watching with a soft grin from the couch and then it all goes wrong at once. She misses a key, fumbles through the next ones and her shoulders slump down when she can’t get back into the rhythm. Her cheeks flush a light pink and she pouts silently at the keys.

You hold in a laugh.

Your sister might look a lot like you, but she’s got a lot of Peggy in her, more than probably either of them realize. You can’t help but daydream about the woman Giulia could become, growing up around Peggy.

“I’ll go get my things ready,” Giulia says very quietly and then stands up and walks towards the bedrooms. You close your eyes, take a deep breath to try and calm your aching heart before you look at Peggy and the two of you quickly follow her.

When you walk into the room Giulia is folding her clothes carefully and putting them into her bag, back rigid and robotic movements. You remember how upset your mother would get if you didn’t pack your bags properly - and the punishment that came with it. Your heart goes back to the bottom of your stomach as you and Peggy sit on the edge of Giulia’s mattress, the bed setting and comforter she used already folded carefully on the armchair.

You had watched as the afternoon went along how Giulia’s mood kept going south, but you hadn’t said anything. You didn’t know what to say to her. She was going back to your parents and to that neighborhood and you were staying here, where your dreams were coming true.

Now you want to say something, but you still don’t know what else you could possibly say that you haven’t told her yet. You feel relief wash over your body when Peggy speaks up.

“Hey.” Giulia stops what she’s doing and barely tilts her head to show she’s listening. If Peggy is surprised by her unwillingness to look at either of you she doesn’t show. “You remember how I told you about the short time I was considered a traitor by my colleagues?” Giulia’s shoulders relax a fraction and she nods, still refusing to turn around. “Your sister saved me that day without being prepared for it at all. Just on pure instinct.” You grin back at Peggy when she turns to smile affectionately at you, before turning back to stare at Giulia’s back. “She’ll be prepared this time. We’ll be prepared. You’ll be back soon.” Giulia dips her head in a small nod and then stares at her wardrobe.

“Does that mean I can leave most of what’s in my bag here?” Her voice is teasing and warm. A wet laugh escapes your lips and you get up to hug her tightly.

“You can leave whatever you want here, Giu.” She smiles at you, kisses your cheek and then unpacks half her bag and starts organizing it all in her wardrobe.

Giulia lies down beside you on the bare mattress after she finishes it and you just stare at each other with sad grins.

Peggy crosses the hallway to your bedroom and comes back with the books that you two have been reading. She settles on your other side and hands you your book with a small grin. Giulia grabs her own book from her nightstand and the three of you settle on the mattress in a companionable, if slightly saddened silence.

When the bell rings, closer to nine than the usual eight o’clock pick up, Giulia quietly places her book on the nightstand, gets up, hoists her bag over her shoulder and then walks towards the door. You’re quick to roll from the middle of the bed, grab the book and rush after her.

“Hey. Take the book with you.” Giulia looks at you with a confused frown.

“Won’t Howard mind?” You scoff and wrap your arm over her shoulder, pressing the book into her hands.

“You’ll be back with it before he visits again.” You shoot her your most confident smile and she smiles back. The clenching feeling in your heart lessens a tiny bit at her shinning green eyes.

Peggy swoops in and tries to grab Giulia’s bag from her shoulder but she holds onto it, giving Peggy a thankful smile and a little shake of her head. You’re thankful for that, the last thing you need is for Peggy to go head to head with Giuseppe and try to impose her dominance over him. You don’t need the rumors he would start with your family over that, if you are to come up with a plan to get Giulia out of there.

Giuseppe is leaning against the front porch pole when you open the door, toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth. You feel like puking just looking at him. He has changed so much from the sweet little boy that used to play with you when you were younger.

“You’re late.” His lips turn up around the toothpick and he shrugs his shoulders. His eyes dart to Peggy who’s standing right over your shoulder.

“Business ran late.” His Italian accent is thick from being around too many old men who came from the other side of the ocean. He reaches for Giulia’s bag and she hands it to him. He gives you a curt nod. “ _Ciao_ , Angela.” Then shoots Peggy another suspicious look. “ _Andiamo,_ Giulia.” He walks to the car quickly, even while limping.

Peggy steps forward and pulls Giulia into a tight, long hug before she presses a lingering kiss against her cheek. She pulls away and holds Giulia’s face between her hands.

“It was an absolute pleasure having you here, darling. I’ll see you soon, alright?” Giulia nods and wraps her arms around Peggy’s waist in another hug before turning to you with wet eyes and a small grin.

“I’ll miss you.” She says, her eyes moving to Peggy, grin widening, “Both of you.” Peggy smiles softly at her and you’re quick to pull Giulia into a hug, afraid that if you wait any longer you’ll be the one to burst into tears.

“Listen, you take care of yourself, dodge any mention of being initiated, work hard on your nerdy science projects and get to know Ezra. Okay?” Giulia laughs and presses a kiss against your cheek that you answer with one to her head.

“I promise. Love you, Ange,” she mumbles against your neck and you tighten your arms around her.

“Love you, too, honey.” You pull away from her and use every acting tactic you know to keep the tears in. “Now go, it’s already late to be on the roads.” Giulia nods and walks backwards, waving at both of you, before getting into the car. Giuseppe drives away as soon as she’s inside and you watch as the car turns around the corner.

Eventually, you walk back inside and Peggy hugs you tightly. You stay in her arms for a few minutes, enjoying the comfort that her warm embrace brings you, before you pull away to go to the kitchen.

She locks down the house while you heat up some of the leftover food from the picnic and the two of you silently eat in the kitchen counter, neither in the mood to set up the dining table.

Soon enough you agree to turn in, both of you having to work early tomorrow. Peggy gives you an understanding look and walks into your bedroom when you hesitate just outside of Giulia’s door. You walk around the room for a while before picking up the bed settings from the armchair and entering the bathroom.

The used toothbrush and towel cause your heart to clench in a painful way. You grab the towel quickly and spin around to get out of there when your eyes land on the dirty, green overalls hanging from the back of the door. A smile pulls at your lips and the ache in your heart turns into a soft throbbing. You snatch up the overalls and the shirt she borrowed from you and take them all to the laundry room. You’ll load the washing machine before you leave tomorrow morning.

When you leave the bathroom a few minutes later, in your nightgown, Peggy’s in the same position she was when you walked into the bedroom, back against the headboard and book pressed to her face. You make a mental note that you need to drag her to get her eyes checked since she clearly won’t do it on her own.

You slip under the blankets and cuddle up to her legs, face resting on her lap.

“We need to do something to get Giu outta there, Peg.” Peggy closes her book, puts it on her nightstand and wiggles until you move away. She then settles under the blankets and turns to lie face to face with you, hand searching for yours under the blankets and fingers intertwining together when they meet.

“We will, but… Angie, you realize we’ll have to bring someone down to have a valuable, strong argument, right?” There’s no doubt in your mind that Peggy has probably done way riskier operations than what you’re planning and still she sounds incredibly hesitant about this. Because of you, it takes you a while to realize. Because it’s about you and it’s about Giulia.

You wish you could focus on how hard it makes your heart beat for Peggy. But you can’t.

“I do, yeah. I just-“ A deep breath goes in through your lips and then out in a huff that makes Peggy’s hair sway. “Look, besides the off-book, hm...” You’re not certain what would be a more tactile way of calling it. Operations?

“Mafia work?” You suppose you don’t need to have any tact about the subject with Peggy, then.

“Yeah, I’m not used to saying that out loud, but yes. Besides **that** , the restaurant and the car shop are how my parents win their bread. I don’t wanna leave them with nothing.” Peggy nods thoughtfully, eyes roaming around.

“I understand that, I do. Do you have knowledge of any other services that run off-book for them?” You scoff, maybe you weren’t very clear the few times you’ve spoken about this before.

“All damn neighborhood, basically.”

“And you know how they operate?” You bite your lip, hesitating, before you nod.

“Used to. You’ll have to do some of your spying work to make sure it’s still the same.” Peggy’s lips turn up in amusement.

“Yes, of course. And you think a bust will be enough?”

“Oh, yeah. There hasn’t been one in a long time over there, they got way too confident. A bust will shake ‘em up. And, with some of my flare, it’ll be enough to convince my parents.” Peggy doesn’t look very convinced.

Another deep sigh escapes your lips. You’re not very fond of the idea of sharing this part of your past with Peggy. Not at all.

“People don’t get out of the business after they get in, Peg. I was the exception. Ma will know this won’t happen twice with someone from her family, she’ll want Giulia out of there before they can drag her in and her future will be either prison or a grave.”

“And your mother will let Giulia come and live with us? From the way she talked about her this weekend your mother seems to be the suspicious kind.” You give Peggy a sheepish smile and the look on her face lets you know she suspects she won’t like what you’re about to say next.

“I just… I might have to play a little bit on the famous, multi-millionaire boyfriend thing?” The loud groan that comes out of Peggy’s mouth makes you grimace and you reach to cup her face with your free hand. “It’ll just be for a little while, I promise. Just until we get into a routine and Giulia gets used to living with us. Uncle Giácomo won’t let her in the business after she’s effectively living out of the neighborhood. I’m only welcome there if I stay out of their way.” Peggy opens her mouth to speak but you’re quick to continue. You’ve thought all of this already and you’re on a roll. “Howard won’t even know about it and I can use his womanizer reputation to explain the break up afterwards.” Peggy lets out a resigned sigh and nods in a way that makes your chest ache in a whole different way. “ **Plus** , I’ll make sure this play works for me and it’ll just be the first of many and then we can afford a house together. One that has no association to Howard Stark.” The hint of a smile curls on Peggy’s lips as she nods, but you can see she’s holding back something. You give the hand wrapped up in yours an encouraging squeeze.

“You’ll be okay with taking down someone from your family?” The concerned tone in her voice makes your lips turn up and you bring her hand to your lips, pressing a small kiss against her knuckles.

“I grew up with those people, yes, they were my family. And a lot of that family is dead now, because of this business. What we had this weekend, you, me, Giulia, Linda and Ana? **That** is the family I want to have a future with.” Peggy smiles softly and leans in to kiss you deeply, tongue slipping past your lips. She bumps her nose against yours and ends it with a series of small kisses. She pulls you by your arm as she turns around until your front is pressed tightly against her back.

“I’ll work on it this week. Do some spying.” You smile against the skin of her shoulder and tighten your arms around her.

Silence falls around you and you spend a few minutes just playing with Peggy’s fingers that are holding your hand against her chest. You’re not sure if she’s still awake but there’s something that you still need to let out into the air for the sake of your too full heart. Full of fear, hope and love.

“This weekend was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” The way Peggy shudders in your arms, after you press a kiss behind her ear, tells you she is actually still awake.

“Me, too.” Her pause is so long that you start to think it’s all she’ll say. But then she speaks, in the smallest and most vulnerable voice you’ve ever heard from her, “I’ve been afraid for a long while now that I’d never get to feel this happy.” She grabs desperately at your hand and you inch impossibly closer to her body until you’re not sure where yours starts and hers ends.

“I promise I’ll do my best to make you the happiest woman in the world, English.” Peggy twists her neck around so her eyes can meet yours and smiles tenderly at you.

“You already do, love.” A quick kiss to her lips makes her smile widen and when you press a longer, harder one she laughs quietly into your mouth before turning back around.

You fall asleep with Peggy safe and sound in your arms and with highs hopes in your heart that your family will soon be complete again. For good.

 


End file.
